By: Interpreting race pace during a normal F1 weekend is difficult enough; doing so in the middle of a Sprint event is even harder. This time, however, it is not so much fuel loads that are causing confusion, but the tyres — or rather, their longevity on track.
From the lap times recorded, we believe Norris and the two Ferraris ran with fairly similar fuel loads. A few kilograms either way, naturally. Mercedes and Piastri certainly had a few more kilograms on board, as did the two Red Bulls. The Milton Keynes team also used the C2 Hard compound, and only for a handful of laps. That makes their work impossible to analyse.
Times recorded by the top teams
The comparison between the other three teams is far more interesting, particularly as all six drivers ran on C3 Mediums.
For once, Ferrari appear to have been comfortable on the C3, a compound that proved difficult to understand during the first part of the season. Their race pace may have been very competitive — the best among the leading teams — aided by the cool temperatures at Zandvoort. We will see how performance develops over the weekend.
The graph can sometimes lie
At first glance, Hamilton showed the strongest race pace, followed by Norris, Leclerc, Antonelli, Russell and Piastri. However, there is one aspect we are not taking into account: how many laps had the drivers completed before setting those times? Leclerc had completed as many as 17. Added to the seven laps of his long run, that makes 24 — the number of laps the drivers will have to cover in tomorrow's Sprint.
Ferrari therefore not only completed a durability test, but also demonstrated that they were the fastest and most consistent. That said, if Leclerc can replicate what he did today, he will also have a chance to fight for Sprint victory tomorrow. He will obviously need to make a good start, though: overtaking at Zandvoort is not easy.
A shame for Hamilton, who will surely have some regrets this evening. Starting seventh could prove an insurmountable obstacle for him tomorrow. The beauty of Sprint weekends is that it is only Friday. He will still have Saturday afternoon and Sunday's Grand Prix to make amends. He will probably have to wait.
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