Red Bull on a different strategy than Mercedes, will it work?

Max Verstappen drove remarkably few laps on the softest tyre during the free practice sessions in Portugal. Still, the Dutchman chose to produce his fastest times on the soft tyre in Q2, meaning he will start on that compound in Sunday's Portguese Grand Prix.

Verstappen was the only driver of all drivers to complete a race simulation on the medium tyre on Friday afternoon. This tyre also seemed a good option to start the race on. It wasn't until the last twenty minutes of FP3 that Verstappen came out on the softs. When Verstappen ended up in Q2 during qualifying, he and Red Bull Racing chose to set a time on the soft tyre.

This is in contrast to Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. The Mercedes drivers have not only completed their fastest laps on the mediums in Q2, but Hamilton even took pole position on the mediums. According to adviser Helmut Marko, this could work to the advantage of Red Bull.

Mercedes start on the harder of the two tyres, so Verstappen should have an advantage early in the race. It is now up to the Dutchman to get past the two Mercedes in the early stages of the race, so that he can build a lead.

An undercut is no longer in place for Red Bull because of this move. Verstappen will probably come in for his pit stop much sooner than both Mercedes have to do.

Verstappen is the only driver in the top four to start on the softest tyre at Portimao. Charles Leclerc also drove his fastest lap in Q2 on the medium tyre. On Sunday we will see if this was a good move by Red Bull.