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Red Bull more conservative with French Grand Prix F1 tyre choices

Red Bull will have a more conservative allocation of Pirelli's softest-compound tyres than its Formula 1 rivals for the return of the French Grand Prix

Pirelli has made the ultrasoft, supersoft and soft tyres available for the Paul Ricard race, the first GP in France in a decade.

Red Bull has been kinder to soft rubber than Mercedes and Ferrari this season but has chosen the fewest ultrasofts of any team.

Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen have seven sets of ultrasofts each, with three supersofts and three softs completing their allocation.

Mercedes and Ferrari have split their respective drivers in identical fashion.

New championship leader Sebastian Vettel has chosen nine sets of ultrasofts, three supersofts and just one set of softs - the same choices made by Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton.

Their team-mates Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas also have nine sets of ultrasofts but two sets each of the supersofts and softs.

Williams has gone the most aggressive of any team with 10 sets of ultrasofts each for Sergey Sirotkin and Lance Stroll, and Stroll sacrificing a set of softs to take an extra batch of supersofts.

Renault's Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly, Haas driver Kevin Magnussen and Sauber rookie Charles Leclerc also have just one set of soft tyres.

Their team-mates have all opted for an extra set of softs instead of supersofts.

McLaren is the only team to split its drivers' ultrasoft allocation.

Fernando Alonso has eight of the purple-walled Pirellis to Stoffel Vandoorne's nine, but has an extra set of softs as compensation.

French Grand Prix tyre choices

Driver Team Soft Supersoft Ultrasoft
Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1 3 9
Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 2 2 9
Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1 3 9
Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 2 2 9
Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 3 3 7
Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 3 3 7
Sergio Perez Force India 3 2 8
Esteban Ocon Force India 3 2 8
Lance Stroll Williams 1 2 10
Sergey Sirotkin Williams 2 1 10
Nico Hulkenberg Renault 2 2 9
Carlos Sainz Jr Renault 1 3 9
Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1 4 8
Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 2 3 8
Romain Grosjean Haas 2 3 8
Kevin Magnussen Haas 1 4 8
Fernando Alonso McLaren 3 2 8
Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 2 2 9
Marcus Ericsson Sauber 2 2 9
Charles Leclerc Sauber 1 3 9


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