The Austrian Grand Prix is another guaranteed one-stop, barring rain or Safety Cars. Degradation is low across all three compounds on offer and the performance difference between the ultra-soft, super-soft and soft is also minimal.
However, by starting on the super-softs -- as the Mercedes and Red Bulls drivers will do -- there are more options to run longer in the race and protect against potential graining and degradation, offering more flexibility if there is a threat of rain or a Safety Car. Pirelli expects both ultra-soft runners and super-soft runners to switch to the soft compound at their single pit stop, which would be in line with most of the strategies in France. However, we also saw Kimi Raikkonen make an ultra-soft/super-soft strategy work at Paul Ricard, so don't rule out something similar if degradation can be kept under control and a car is more suited to the softer rubber.
The main source of degradation on the ultra-soft during Friday practice was graining -- especially on the rears. High levels of graining can lead to high levels of wear, resulting in less rubber on the tyre and a drop off in temperatures. Pirelli suspects a lot of that degradation was coming from car set-up as not all drivers suffered the same amount, so the teams may have found a way to combat that in final practice. But with hotter conditions expected on Sunday, it could be the case that a number of drivers fall back out of the optimum set-up window in the race.
By starting on the ultra-softs, the Ferraris and Romain Grosjean will have a marginal advantage off the line compared to the rest of the top six, but with a relatively short run to Turn 1 it is unlikely to make the difference into Turn 1.