Ferrari and Mercedes with similar tyre allocation for the French Grand Prix
Pirelli announced the individual tyre selection of each driver for the forthcoming French Grand Prix which takes place for the first time after a 10-year-long absence.
Taking place from June 22-24 at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, a track that has hosted the French Grand Prix on 14 previous occasions, the last time in 1990, the event promises an incredible show for spectators.
Pirelli which will be the title sponsor of the event supplies the teams with the trio of ultrasoft-supersoft-soft compounds. Thanks to the smooth surface, tyre degradation is expected to be low which prompted the teams to order plenty of sets from the softest compound.
Theoretically, teams can order a maximum of 11 sets from one compound. Williams’ drivers Lance Stroll and Sergej Sirotkin opted for the most sets of ultrasoft, both will get 10 sets of the purple-banded tyre.
The two current championship leader teams Mercedes and Ferrari both will get access to 9 sets of ultrasofts compounds. In contrast to that, Red Bull only ordered 7 sets of ultrasofts, making the energy drink-owned team the most conservative squad of the whole field.
Pirelli’s Le Castellet tyres will follow the same philosophy as its Barcelona and Silverstone tyres, featuring a 0.4mm thinner outer surface. The change was a reaction to Mercedes’ overheating struggles during the winter tests and led to a Mercedes demonstration run in the Spanish Grand Prix after the Anglo-German team showed a sudden, unexpected dominant pace. The second appearance of this modified tyre will show how much of a change the thinner surface brings to the pecking order.
