The Austrian Grand Prix is one where places can be made up, or lost, on race day with a powerful undercut, plenty of overtaking opportunities over the lap and a fair chance of interventions.

Add much warmer temperatures into this and although Pirelli have so far observed much lower than expected degradation, this is likely to change today. Where this weather shift will play against teams like Mercedes, who are still struggling in the heat despite some signs of progress in Canada, it will play into teams like Ferrari’s hands.

This lower than anticipated degradation could open up the one-stop for drivers looking to run an alternative strategy, as Pirelli believe it is “doable”. Even so, they note that it is still predicted to be the slower strategy, by around seven seconds versus a two-stop using the medium and hard.

This was the strategy that dominated the field last year, with the majority of drivers starting on the medium before switching to the hard for their middle stint and ending once again on the medium. The stint lengths were also all fairly even, even on the typically better wearing, and therefore longer running, white-walled hard tyre.

Based on FP2’s long run data, we could see a very similar pattern today. Over an average stint across all drivers on each compound, the medium and hard were remarkably comparable in terms of pace as the stint went on. The soft was quicker on average, but also looked to be more volatile over a longer-run, with larger peaks and troughs in lap time.

Of course the strategy a driver can run will largely depend on their remaining tyre allocation, and it’s worth noting that the Aston Martins, Alpines, and Racing Bulls each have just a single set of new hards and new mediums left, versus the two mediums and one hard of every other driver. This could mean they run a soft stint either early or later on, or aim to run the one stop from the start. Considering a stint on the soft wasn’t really an option last year, but with the 2025 compounds being more durable, it could be a possibility.

Tsunoda, Stroll, Alonso, Colapinto, Ocon, Bearman, Albon, Sainz and Hulkenberg also each have sets of new soft tyres remaining for the grand prix, unlike the other drivers, which will open up their chance of capitalising on safety car opportunities or maximising their chances at the start by opting for superior grip over longevity. As degradation has been lower so far, we could also see some soft stints through the field where the one-stop isn’t favoured.

Clean air is also king around the Red Bull Ring with blue flags and traffic being all the more costly here, so expect teams to be strongly considering their gaps to other drivers in when they opt to come in, and therefore where they’ll come out. The soft-medium-hard could prove especially advantageous in that sense, with a chance at initial gains off the line and then free air ahead after an earlier first pitstop while others stay out for the medium window.