Racing Bulls’ CEO Peter Bayer described its strategy at the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, seeing both drivers finish in the points, as a “stroke of genius,” but the finished result was harder than it looked.
The Red Bull sister team performed a clever tactical ploy during the race, which saw Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson work in harmony, the pair finishing sixth and eighth respectively.
The Kiwi acted as a rear gunner to his team-mate, holding up the pack as the Frenchman motored off into the distance, taking his first of the mandatory two stops on Lap 14.
Coming out in the same position, Hadjar would then pit again just five laps later, and with the help of the swift action from the Racing Bulls pit crew, the pair were able to cement a double-points finish, seeing the Faenza-based squad now sit just four points off sixth-placed Haas in the Constructor’s Championship.
Speaking to media, including Motorsport Week, after the race, Lawson described having to drive so far off the limit as unnatural, saying it was “really a lot more difficult than I expected, from a concentration point.”
Lawson said the plan was executed “perfectly,” and Bayer echoed those sentiments,
“Brilliant job by our strategists,” the Austrian told media, including Motorsport Week. “We’ve had our share of frustrations with Laurent [Mekies, Team Principal] over strategy but today they really pulled off a stroke of genius. The bit of risk we took definitely paid off.”
Racing Bulls avoided riskier strategy to secure Monaco points
Bayer revealed that the team felt it could have stayed of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, behind Hadjar in seventh, after receiving a grid penalty after qualifying.
However, the decision was taken that sacrificing one position would eventually be beneficial to help Lawson secure a chunk of points too.
“Theoretically there was even more possible,” he said. “The risk was definitely high – ‘no risk, no fun’, as they say – but the decision was to let Lewis go so we could essentially take control with both our cars.
“Carlos [Sainz] might have taken that position from us otherwise, but since he was clearly pushing hard, we said ‘okay, that gives us the window’. And we had to use the soft tyres, so we tried to keep that stint as short as possible because they simply wouldn’t deliver performance over a long period.
“And yeah, perfectly executed by the guys – we’re very, very happy that the risk paid off.”
After benefitting from Lawson’s teamwork to secure sixth place, Hadjar admitted that a race in which tyre management was crucial became something of a dull endeavour, but praised his team-mate’s role in the strategy.
“The problem is you’re nearly falling asleep because you’re doing tyre management and it’s becoming really boring,” Hadjar said.
“Sometimes I was picking up the pace because I was so bored that I had to keep thinking. It was a long way to the end.
“Qualifying was the most intense day and the most hard work I’ve had to put in since I can remember.
“Today it was a bit easier because I really relied on Liam. He followed the strategy and the plan perfectly. He offered me really early pitstops.
“That was the target and that was perfectly executed.”
READ MORE – Carlos Sainz calls out F1 Monaco GP ‘manipulation’ as two-stop strategy trial falters
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