Formula 1 teams' first tyre choices of 2018 revealed by Pirelli
Pirelli has announced the 10 Formula 1 teams' selections for the season-opening 2018 Australian GP, with ultrasofts the heavily favoured compound
Every team will have between seven and nine sets of the purple-walled tyre, the softest available for Melbourne.
The announcement of the Australian GP picks comes on the heels of pre-season testing at Barcelona where many teams struggled to switch on the softer tyre compounds.
Pre-season favourite Mercedes was among those to suffer blistering on the softer compounds and it has picked nine sets of ultrasofts for Australia, the joint-highest number in the field.
In addition to the ultrasofts, reigning champion Lewis Hamilton has three sets of supersofts and one set of softs available, while Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas has two sets of each.
The Silver Arrows' expected main rivals Ferrari and Red Bull have each gone for a uniform tyre selection within its line-ups.
Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo will get eight sets of ultrasofts along with three sets of supersofts and two sets of softs, while Ferrari pair Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen will have one fewer set of ultrasofts and one more set of softs.
No driver has opted for more than three sets of the hardest available compound, but Renault pair Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg, as well as Haas driver Romain Grosjean, will have four sets of supersofts.
Australian Grand Prix tyre choices
| Driver | Soft | Super-soft | Ultra-soft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis Hamilton | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Valtteri Bottas | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Max Verstappen | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Sergio Perez | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Esteban Ocon | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Lance Stroll | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Sergey Sirotkin | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| Carlos Sainz Jr | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Pierre Gasly | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Brendon Hartley | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Romain Grosjean | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| Kevin Magnussen | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Fernando Alonso | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Stoffel Vandoorne | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Marcus Ericsson | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Charles Leclerc | 3 | 2 | 9 |
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