Red Bull has opted for a harder mix of tyres for the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix than rivals Mercedes and Ferrari.
Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen have each chosen four sets of Pirelli’s hardest rubber for next weekend’s race at Suzuka. They will have six sets of soft tyres each, compared to nine for the Ferrari drivers and eight for the Mercedes pair.
Lewis Hamilton will have one more set of hard tyres for the weekend than team mate Nico Rosberg. Hamilton won last year’s race by running two stints on the medium tyres and one on the hards.
| 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 | |
2016 Japanese Grand Prix
- FIA bans the ‘Verstappen block’
- Wolff blames Verstappen protest on “miscommunication”
- 2016 Japanese Grand Prix team radio transcript
- Second Driver of the Weekend win for Rosberg
- Themes of 2016 continue in average Suzuka race
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
27th September 2016, 11:47
Wow that’s a big differential for Softs RBR are right down there with Manor with their selection.
Be interesting to see which ones get bolted on during P1, P2 and P3
IJW (@ijw1)
27th September 2016, 12:58
It will probably rain, so who has what won’t matter! ;-)
Having said that, I am surprised that Mercedes haven’t gone for more Hard/Medium tyres, as it does seem that their car prefers harder tyres than others.
CarWars (@maxv)
27th September 2016, 18:03
Mercedes only doesnt like the ultrasoft it seems. On some tracks maybe also supersoft.
Sumedh
27th September 2016, 13:33
Don’t understand Sebastian’s allocation? Just 1 of the medium?
montreal95 (@montreal95)
27th September 2016, 14:31
Question is: is it the same as Sepang, where both comulsory sets are the hards? If so, then I perfectly see the reasoning, as such situation makes the mediums almost redundant
ex_f1_contributor
27th September 2016, 17:03
These are the tyres that Pirelli has said must be used at some point in the race:
Two sets of P Zero Orange hard.
Each driver must have both these sets available for the race, and must use at least one of them.
(Pirelli)
montreal95 (@montreal95)
27th September 2016, 19:17
Thanks ex_f1_contributor. There you have your answer Sumedh
nase
27th September 2016, 14:28
“Hamilton won last year’s race by running two stints on the medium tyres and one on the hards.”
That’s not quite correct: 2 stints on medium and 1 on hard was Sebastian Vettel’s winning strategy. Lewis Hamilton finished 2nd with 2 stints on medium and stints on hard as well.
nase
27th September 2016, 14:31
I apologise for writing nonsense. I was under the impression that this article was about Sepang, not Suzuka.
frood19 (@frood19)
28th September 2016, 9:28
it occurs to me now that i have absolutely no memory of last year’s race apart from alonso’s radio message. it must have been a shocker.