Mercedes' Formula 1 rivals aggressive with Mexican Grand Prix tyres
Mercedes' Formula 1 rivals have opted for more-aggressive tyre selections for the Mexican Grand Prix, by favouring the softer compounds
Tyre supplier Pirelli added F1's super-soft tyre to the options for this year's race, with Red Bull and Ferrari choosing six sets and Williams seven.
By contrast, Mercedes has selected just five sets of the rubber - the least of any team.
There is a slight variation in selections between the Mercedes drivers, with defending winner Nico Rosberg choosing four sets of the mediums, one more than Lewis Hamilton, who has an extra set of the soft compound.
Like Mercedes, Renault has favoured the harder compounds with Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer choosing five and four sets of the mediums respectively.
Toro Rosso has picked the most sets of super-soft tyres with eight alongside two sets of mediums and three sets of softs.
Esteban Gutierrez has chosen just one set of the mediums, the fewest of any driver, with five sets of softs and seven sets of super-softs.
Pirelli has mandated one set of the medium or soft must be used during the 71-lap race on October 30.
It has also nominated one set of the super-soft tyre to be used in the final part of qualifying.
Mexican Grand Prix tyre choices
| Driver | Medium | Soft | Super-soft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis Hamilton | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| Nico Rosberg | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| Felipe Massa | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Valtteri Bottas | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Max Verstappen | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Sergio Perez | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Kevin Magnussen | 5 | 2 | 6 |
| Jolyon Palmer | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| Daniil Kvyat | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Carlos Sainz Jr | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Marcus Ericsson | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Felipe Nasr | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Fernando Alonso | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Jenson Button | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Pascal Wehrlein | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| Esteban Ocon | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| Romain Grosjean | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| Esteban Gutierrez | 1 | 5 | 7 |
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
Why fans don't get true picture of driver performance with 2026 F1 rules - but it is fixable, according to Haas boss
Russell: Data shows software calibration behind recent F1 struggles, not driving style
Momentum restored: Antonelli overcomes bad luck to reclaim control at the Belgian GP
What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 F1 Hungarian GP
Alonso delivers first verdict on Aston Martin F1 car upgrades
F1 Hungarian GP: Hamilton leads Ferrari 1-2 in FP2, Colapinto crashes for Alpine
LIVE: F1 Hungarian GP updates - Hamilton heads FP2 after Colapinto crash, Stroll sidelined for Aston Martin
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