Drivers have overwhelmingly preferred the super-soft compound in their tyre selections for Formula One’s first race in Baku next week.
With the ultra-soft tyre not available for F1’s debut at the Baku City Circuit, most drivers will take seven or eight sets of the next-softest rubber for the European Grand Prix.
All drivers must have one set of medium and one set of soft tyres available for the race, but many have only selected a single set of the harder medium compound.
Nico Rosberg is one of those two choose two sets of mediums, in a departure from his team mate. Lewis Hamilton along with Esteban Gutierrez plus both Red Bull, Renault and Toro Rosso drivers have opted for the most aggressive selection including eight sets of super-softs and just one set of mediums.
| Driver | Team | Tyres |
|---|---|---|
| Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | |
| Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | |
| Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | |
| Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | |
| Felipe Massa | Williams | |
| Valtteri Bottas | Williams | |
| Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | |
| Max Verstappen | Red Bull | |
| Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | |
| Sergio Perez | Force India | |
| Kevin Magnussen | Renault | |
| Jolyon Palmer | Renault | |
| Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | |
| Carlos Sainz Jnr | Toro Rosso | |
| Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | |
| Felipe Nasr | Sauber | |
| Fernando Alonso | McLaren | |
| Jenson Button | McLaren | |
| Pascal Wehrlein | Manor | |
| Rio Haryanto | Manor | |
| Romain Grosjean | Haas | |
| Esteban Gutierrez | Haas |
Mike (@mike)
6th June 2016, 17:14
Has there been any race where the harder tyre is preferred? I feel like they need to shift all the tyres down a spot.
sato113 (@sato113)
6th June 2016, 19:39
agreed! I want two stop races to be the minimum.
Man United_Vettel (@siegfreyco)
7th June 2016, 5:46
@mike In China actually.
The problem is that they need mant of the softest tyre during qualifying so it always looks like they prefer the softest compound
Mike (@mike)
9th June 2016, 13:45
@siegfreyco Ah, thanks for the info! I think you make a good point.
Billys (@bilarxos)
6th June 2016, 17:39
How they can be so sure to have only one medium set for the weekend? Don’t have any data from there!
bezza695 (@bezza695)
6th June 2016, 18:35
@bilarxos they probably have data that suggests the track will have a smooth surface like Sochi has so tyre wear won’t be high possibly?
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
6th June 2016, 18:53
When Pirelli introduced the ultra soft I assumed they would finally try to be more aggressive on their tire choices and after all we’re still to often stuck with the harder ones…
zimkazimka (@zimkazimka)
7th June 2016, 4:58
That’s because Ultra Soft is not available for Baku.
drmouse (@drmouse)
7th June 2016, 9:10
@zimkazimka I think @xtwl is saying he thought Pirelli would be more aggressive on their choices, not the teams.
JCost (@jcost)
7th June 2016, 9:43
Indeed.
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
7th June 2016, 10:41
@zimkazimkaI had indeed expected Pirelli to make more bold choices. It’s been to obvious every single time which tyre not to use. For example if the softest available is the worst to race on we could see more exciting Q2s as some teams really want to avoid starting on it whilst others would then use it as a bridge to reach Q3.
Jerejj
7th June 2016, 12:05
I still think they should have chosen ultrasoft instead of the medium since it’s a temporary street although a new circuit, but still.
Gabriel (@rethla)
7th June 2016, 15:33
Noone could have seen this comming. With Pirellis diverse and finetuned tyre allotment the teams yet again all go for the softest tyre… This is an ongoing joke.
Someone who is desperate will try the mediums in the race and thats all we will see of them. My money is on P1 having stretched out the super softs way more than “expected” but the odds are almost negative on that bet.