Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull have opted for almost identical tyre choices for this weekend’s United States Grand Prix in Austin.
Pirelli has gone one step softer with their allocation compared to a year ago, with the Ultrasoft compound making its first appearance at the Circuit of the Americas. For this race only, the usually purple-marked rubber has turned pink as part of a partnership with Susan G. Komen Foundation to raise awareness about women and breast cancer.
The more aggressive approach is a continuation of the trend from most races this season, as the more durable 2017 tyres have seen one-stop races become the norm. Yet with the faster cars set to increase cornering speeds in his sweeping first sector and round the long right-hander towards the end of the lap, degradation could be a more important factor.
That is why the top three teams have been a little more conservative with just seven sets of the softest compound out of their permitted 13. Both Red Bulls, Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel will all have four sets of the red-striped Supersoft and two Soft.
Lewis Hamilton has split his allocation in half with three Supersoft and three Soft while Kimi Raikkonen is the most aggressive with five Supersoft and a single set of Soft tyres.
Force India, Toro Rosso and Renault have all opted for eight sets of Ultrasofts while McLaren and Felipe Massa have the most of anyone with nine lots of the pink-striped compound to play with.
The weather is another interesting factor with rain expected on and off at various stages including Sunday morning which, though it may dry before the race, could lead to a ‘green’ track, similar to what they’ll experience in practice on Friday.
The full allocation of tyres can be seen below:
