Explaining Canada's tyre strategies
After qualifying in Montreal, many thought McLaren had taken a gamble with its tyre choice for the race. As it turned out, however, it was Red Bull who opted for the riskier option. Tony Dodgins explains why
Strategically, Montreal was one of the most fascinating races in a long time. McLaren got it absolutely spot-on but, on Saturday night post-qualifying, few thought so.
What they did was to produce quicker Q2 times than Red Bull on both the Option tyre and the Prime, then elect to run the softer Option in Q3 while Red Bull went for the Prime, which looked much better suited as a race tyre. A great lap from Lewis Hamilton got McLaren pole, but when they were nip and tuck on the Prime, nobody could quite understand the 'gamble' of starting on the Option.
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