Paul Hembery: “Although we deliberately opted for a bold tyre choice at this race, and the teams had little data to go on due to the weather on Friday, we immediately saw the supersoft tyre lasting for more than 10 laps at the beginning of the race on full fuel and the soft tyre for more than 20 laps. It was clear that the track had evolved a lot in a short space of time, and we knew straight from the first round of stops that we were now looking at a two-stop strategy, which was certainly at the lower end of our expectations.
“There were a number of different tyre strategies at work, but in the end the drivers kept up a very good pace on both compounds – with Vettel setting the fastest lap of the race on the final lap with the soft tyres – despite some people predicting four stops or more and significant degradation before the grand prix started. Finally, I’d like to congratulate Red Bull Racing for taking the Constructors’ Championship once more in what has been a remarkable season for them.”
