Monaco Grand Prix: F1 teams' first free tyre choice of '17 revealed
Formula 1 teams have leaned heavily towards the ultra-soft tyre for the Monaco Grand Prix as they make their own selections for the first time in 2017
Usually, tyre supplier Pirelli mandates three of the 13 sets per driver, with teams free to make their own selection for the other 10.
But with a new tyre being used for 2017, all 13 sets for each driver have been identical and defined in the regulations for the first five races.
Pirelli is supplying the soft, super-soft and ultra-soft for the Monte Carlo street race, with all teams using the majority of their allocation for the softest rubber in the range.
Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen along with the Williams of Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa and Renault's Nico Hulkenberg and Jolyon Palmer have chosen the most with 11 sets.
That leaves each driver with only one set of the softs and one set of the super-soft.
Championship rivals Mercedes and Ferrari have slightly different strategies, with Mercedes choosing nine sets of the ultra-softs and three super-softs while Ferrari has opted for an extra set of the ultra-soft rubber.
Jenson Button, who is returning for a one-off appearance in place of Fernando Alonso, is the only driver to have chosen two sets of the soft. Every other driver has only one set.
Toro Rosso has echoed Mercedes' strategy while Force India, Haas and Sauber are in line with Ferrari.
Monaco Grand Prix tyre choices
| Driver | Soft | Super-soft | Ultra-soft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis Hamilton | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Valtteri Bottas | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| Max Verstappen | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Sergio Perez | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Esteban Ocon | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Felipe Massa | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| Lance Stroll | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| Stoffel Vandoorne | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Jenson Button | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| Daniil Kvyat | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Carlos Sainz Jr | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Romain Grosjean | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Kevin Magnussen | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| Jolyon Palmer | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| Marcus Ericsson | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Pascal Wehrlein | 1 | 2 | 10 |
Share Or Save This Story
F1 testing: Max Verstappen feels 'big difference' in 2018 Red Bull
Williams F1's Oliver Rowland to test Super Formula car at Suzuka
Why F1's under-fire rookie is already causing surprises
WRC Finland: Ogier in command after torrential rain shakes up order
New commercial rights holder announced for the WRC and ERC in landmark deal
The principles Stella holds dear at McLaren to make the F1 team tick
The challenge Haas faces in trying to meet F1 budget cap: "Fighting with both hands tied"
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments