Max Verstappen has chosen more sets of the softest tyres available for the Italian Grand Prix than any of his front-running rivals.
The Red Bull driver will have 10 sets of the soft tyres available at Monza. These will be the C4 compound, which is the second-softest tyre in Pirelli’s range. The Mercedes and Ferrari drivers will have eight sets each.Although Verstappen’s new team mate Alexander Albon will take over the allocation selected for his predecessor Pierre Gasly, and vice-versa, both had chosen the same tyres anyway, and will have nine sets of softs.
The Racing Point drivers are the only ones besides Verstappen to have chosen 10 sets of softs. McLaren have also departed from the norm by bringing two sets of hard tyres for both their drivers, while their rivals are only bringing an extra set for one of their two cars.
2019 Italian Grand Prix tyre selections
| Driver | Team | Hard (C2) | Medium (C3) | Soft (C4) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Alexander Albon | Red Bull | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Daniel Riccairdo | Renault | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Romain Grosjean | Haas | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Lando Norris | McLaren | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Sergio Perez | Racing Point | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Lance Stroll | Racing Point | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| George Russell | Williams | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Robert Kubica | Williams | 2 | 2 | 9 |
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Chaitanya
27th August 2019, 12:59
Overall it seems like the drivers or teams dont have confidence in hard tyres and Mediums are prefered for long runs.
Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
27th August 2019, 13:02
Strangely we quite often see that the longest stint in the race is done on a tire compound the teams have not used at all prior to that race stint, usually the hard compound.
Willy
29th August 2019, 1:58
Or it could be that most teams are trying to go against what they think most others will do and try a two-stop. That’s why they have that extra set of Softs compared to Mercedes, for example.
Boudi
27th August 2019, 16:33
They have the full confidence but they need the soft ones to maxims qualifying performance.
Jockey Ewing
27th August 2019, 22:53
imo many softs are not bad for him, altough hards and mediums are very long lasting this year
but he and RB is very good compared to the midfield competitors and simply cant really go for less than 6th postion, so stomping them at the race ll be cool with additional softs, or even pulling off a surpising +1 change against better competitors is an option
probably the longevity of mediums and hards also mean the softs are quite durable, so having many of them is not that risky with a good package
anon
28th August 2019, 7:52
A two stop strategy around Monza has traditionally been slower than a one stop strategy though – Red Bull might get a fastest lap with that sort of strategy, but with Monza traditionally being a low wear circuit with a limited number of corners, traditionally it has been hard to make up for the additional pit stop given the smaller performance delta.