Pirelli confirms drivers' tyre choice for Azerbaijan GP
- Published on 16 Apr 2019 10:31
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- By: Fergal Walsh
Pirelli has confirmed the tyre choices each driver has made for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in just under two weeks.
The Italian marque will bring the C2, C3 and C4 compounds to the race, as it did at China last weekend.
The C4 compound, the softest available to the drivers throughout the weekend, is by far the most popular choice.
However, Mercedes and Ferrari have chosen a little conservatively, while Red Bull brings two extra sets of the red-walled tyre compared to Ferrari.
Some midfield teams have opted to bring 10 sets of the C4 compound, while the C2 looks set to be relatively unused.
| Driver | C2 | C3 | C4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis Hamilton | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| Valtteri Bottas | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| Charles Leclerc | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| Max Verstappen | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Pierre Gasly | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Kevin Magnussen | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Romain Grosjean | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Carlos Sainz | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Lando Norris | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Sergio Perez | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Lance Stroll | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Antonio Giovinazzi | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Daniil Kvyat | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Alexander Albon | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| George Russell | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Robert Kubica | 1 | 3 | 9 |
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Replies (1)
Login to replydr002
Posts: 141
Looking at the hard tyre selections, what's the point of having the hard tyre?
Currently each driver must use at least two different dry weather compounds during the race (including one set of the mandatory race tyre), and drivers who make it to Q3 must start the race with the tyres they set their fastest Q2 lap on.
Why not leave it exactly as is, but have two mandatory tyres; and either make both the hard and medium tyre mandatory for all races, or make the hard tyre mandatory for all races and have Pirelli select either the soft or medium as the alternate mandatory tyre.
Having a mandatory hard tyre would test the drivers more in terms of having to deal with a less grippy tyre, and with the hard tyre being slower, it would provide greater scope for a two stop race, which is what we saw in China where the hard tyre was quite a deal slower than the medium.
Favouring the first option would also advantage the mid-field teams, in that the softs would likely still be the favoured tyre of the top teams in Q2, which would thus force them into a two stop race. Those teams in the mid-filed could run a medium or hard in Q2 and try a one stop race.