Formula 1’s title rivals Mercedes and Ferrari have adopted a relatively conservative stance regarding tyre choices for next weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Pirelli has nominated the C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium) and C4 (Soft) compounds in order to cope with the demands placed upon the rubber by the six-kilometre Baku City Circuit.
As per usual each driver has 13 sets of tyres for the weekend; they are permitted free choice of Softs, Mediums or Hards for the 10 sets not mandated by Pirelli.
Eight of the 10 Formula 1 teams have chosen either nine or 10 sets of Soft tyres, but Mercedes and Ferrari have diverged by choosing only eight and seven respectively.
As a result Ferrari’s drivers will have five sets of Medium tyres available, and Mercedes’ four, in comparison to the solitary set of Mediums that Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo will have in his armoury for the entire weekend.
The white-banded Hard tyre has been all but abandoned, with only Ricciardo, Kimi Raikkonen, Daniil Kvyat and George Russell selecting more than one set of the hardest tyre.
