Graining turns the Madring into a race problem

The Madring produced more grip and degradation than expected. Pirelli found graining on both left tyres, sometimes severe on cars that slid most, with the long Turn 12 applying a heavy load. Arvid Lindblad's red flag then shortened already limited long runs.

The hard tyre is now central to Sunday. Audi alone ran it with both drivers by splitting its FP1 and FP2 programmes. That does not create pace, but it supplies useful data on a compound the leaders will probably need. Pirelli also measured only about half a second between soft and medium tyres.

Track evolution should ease some graining, yet teams must choose between tyre protection and immediate qualifying speed. With incomplete long-run data, Saturday's grid may be clear while Sunday's pace remains unusually uncertain.