2023-07-29 14:02:12
(Motorsport-Total.com) – Formula 1 teams were surprised by a late FIA decision on tire use at the Spa Sprint Shootout, as it was not what teams expected. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll had to switch from intermediate to medium tires on a drying track, resulting in the Canadian’s crash on his last lap of SQ2.
Lance Stroll was only allowed to raise mediums – and had an accident
The regulations for the sprint shootout stipulate that the riders must use the medium tires in SQ1 and SQ2 and the soft tires in SQ3.
However, the regulations also state that these rules do not apply if the track is declared wet by the FIA. That means the drivers can use any set of dry tires in the three sessions.
The relevant rule is: “If any of the SQ1, SQ2 or SQ3 sections is declared wet, the specification, mileage or number of dry tires that may be used for the remainder of the sprint shootout is a matter of choice”.
This is exactly what happened at the last sprint weekend in Austria, when the track was declared wet but was in fact dry early in the first session and the tires might be used freely.
Teams expected a “wet” track
Although the FIA is not required to declare the track wet, teams assumed the same procedure would apply with the rain forecast for Belgium on Saturday, so they hit the soft tires in SQ1 and SQ2 as the track dried out might change.
Some teams had returned their sets of tires following Friday’s race, recognizing that they would likely need more soft tires and fewer medium tires and were preparing for the shootout with the idea that they will switch from intermediates to softs if the track should dry off in one of the three segments.
About 15 minutes before the start of the shootout, FIA Sport Director Steve Nielsen informed the teams that despite the persistent rain, the track would not be declared wet. So the teams were forced to run on medium tires in SQ1 and SQ2 on a drying track if they wanted to use slicks.
The announcement is believed to be in response to events in Austria, where some teams questioned the need for free choice of dry tires following the track was declared wet.
Stroll paid for Mediums
Ultimately, SQ1 stayed wet, but with a dry track looming, Lance Stroll switched from SQ2 to dry tires in the closing minutes. However, instead of the usual switch from intermediates to soft, he had to put on medium tires.
Stroll clearly had trouble getting the tires up to temperature on his outlap and was struggling with grip. He told his team: “It’s still too early.” However, his engineer told him that the team had now made the tire choice and “we have to make the best of the decision we made”.
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He started his flying lap but had an accident halfway through which resulted in the red flag and the end of SQ2. After a delay to recover his car, the final SQ1 session took place in dry conditions.
What was unusual regarding the whole scenario was that, for the first time, the FIA, while following their own accepted procedures, forced a driver to switch from Intermediates to Medium while the track was still wet.
It is said that the FIA believes that the warm-up time of the medium tires is as good as that of the soft tires and that sticking with the planned tire choice for the shootout was an acceptable decision.
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