Ferrari and Red Bull go wild with Canadian GP tyre selection
Ferrari and Red Bull drivers opted for the very exact tyre allocation for the forthcoming Canadian Grand Prix while their rival Mercedes chose a very conservative selection of compounds.
F1's sole tyre manufacturer Pirelli will supply the teams with the trio of supersoft-ultrasoft-hypersoft which is identical to the trio seen on the tight streets of the Principality of Monaco.
The hypersoft is the Milan-based company’s softest compound which was introduced for the 2018 Formula One Championship. During its first appearance, this compound showed a big leap in performance, but also in wear compared to the second softest of the range, the ultrasoft.
Mercedes is the most conservative team with its five sets of hypersoft, five sets of ultrasoft and three sets of supersoft. Red Bull and Ferrari decided for eight sets of hypersofts. Interestingly, the number of sets of their supersofts and ultrasofts is also identical.
Renault, Force India and Toro Rosso have the same amount of hypersofts as the second and third-placed teams in the standings.
Teams have to inform Pirelli about their tyre order 15 weeks before overseas races, which means they could not base their selection for the Montreal track on the Monaco experiences. After the hypersoft woes, Mercedes seems to have picked a safe amount of hypersofts and Red Bull and Ferrari might be forced to use three sets of hypersofts on Friday and two sets of hypersofts in the final Saturday practice to even out the differences for the qualifying session and race.
