Bahrain 2009: Pitstop & Fuel Strategies

Bahrain 2009: Pitstop & Fuel Strategies

With fast cars being stuck behind slower cars during the Bahrain Grand Prix, a few drivers altered their strategies as the race unfolded, with Rubens Barrichello going for a three-stop run rather than a two-stopper like his team mate. Ultimately, for those at the front the two-stop scenario worked out better for them and Jenson Button won after timing his stops perfectly; a classic trait of team principal Ross Brawn. Here are the pitstop timings and tyre choices made by the twenty competing drivers this afternoon.

Bahrain 2009
Pitstop Strategies

Stint 1
(Start Tyre)

Stint 2
(Lap)

Stint 3
(Lap)

Stint 4
(Lap)

McLaren
British FlagLewis Hamilton Super Soft Super Soft (15) Medium (37)
Finnish FlagHeikki Kovalainen Medium Super Soft (12) Super Soft (38)
Ferrari
Finnish FlagKimi Raikkonen Super Soft Super Soft (20) Medium (44)
Brazilian FlagFelipe Massa Super Soft Super Soft (3) Super Soft (30) Medium (47)
BMW
German FlagNick Heidfeld Medium Super Soft (3) Super Soft (37)
Polish FlagRobert Kubica Medium Super Soft (2) Super Soft (34)
Renault
Spanish FlagFernando Alonso Super Soft Super Soft (16) Medium (37)
Brazilian FlagNelson Piquet Jr. Super Soft Super Soft (23) Medium (43)
Toyota
Italian FlagJarno Trulli Super Soft Medium (11) Super Soft (37)
German FlagTimo Glock Super Soft Medium (10) Super Soft(33)
Scuderia Toro Rosso
German FlagSebastien Buemi Super Soft Super Soft (21) Medium (40)
French FlagSebastien Bourdais Medium Super Soft (19) Super Soft (36)
Red Bull Racing
British FlagSebastian Vettel Super Soft Super Soft (19) Medium (40)
Australian FlagMark Webber Super Soft Medium (14) Super Soft (38)
Williams
German FlagNico Rosberg Super Soft Super Soft (20) Medium (46)
Japanese FlagKazuki Nakajima Super Soft Super Soft (2) Super Soft (31) DNF (50)
Force India
Italian FlagGiancarlo Fisichella Super Soft Super Soft (15) Medium (38)
German FlagAdrian Sutil Super Soft Super Soft (23) Medium (42)
Brawn
British FlagJenson Button Super Soft Super Soft (15) Medium (37)
Brazilian FlagRubens Barrichello Super Soft Super Soft (14) Super Soft (26) Medium (47)

9 comments

  • So Kazuki had another stop to do despite having got to lap 50 with only two stops.

    I’m not sure if he changed his tyres during the first unscheduled stop when he had his nose replaced. I think Kazuki was looking to run the preferred super-soft for most of the race and dive into the pits just before the end for hards. Or, and this is a very big or I could have made a mistake. It’s easy to do when the cameras rarely focus on the back markers. I’ll check out the post-race comments to see if Nakajima or the team shed any light on it.

    Update: Autosport (and therefore Bridgestone who supply them with the data) seem to agree with me over the choice of tyres, and Kazuki definitely retired on either lap 49 or 50.

  • I was about to suggest that maybe Nakajima swapped to the harder compound at his first unscheduled pitstop, as 29 laps on the soft doesn’t sound too right. But Heidfeld did 34 laps on the soft compound, so I think it is possible. Massa also did 27 on the same tyre as well. Perhaps not the best of strategies, but possible nonetheless.

  • Ollie, just a heads-up, but I think you mean ‘medium’ not ‘hard’. 🙂

    Possibly…

    Update: …certainly. Whoops. Thanks doctorvee for pointing that out. I’ll quickly find and replace all in just a moment. Just be thankful I’m not using ‘Prime’ and ‘Option’ terms anymore; that confused everybody, even Brundle and Legard during today’s commentary.

  • No problem Ollie. I always hated the terms ‘prime’ and ‘option’. They are totally meaningless, and I believe they even change which is the softer of the two? Best to stick to ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ in my view.

  • Is it just me, or is Force India copying the McLaren pitcrew helmet design as well? {Gman – previous comment}

    Looks like it! Hopefully nobody is going to call in the FIA over this apparent sharing of supplier…

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