Formula 1 official tyre supplier Pirelli has confirmed the drivers’ tyre choices for the upcoming races at Spa and Monza. Scuderia Ferrari will take more of the softest available tyres for its home race next month, while title rivals Mercedes have made a relatively conservative selection of tyres for the Belgian Grand Prix.
The hardest tyre available for the race at the high-speed Belgian circuit will be the medium. Again Mercedes has chosen more than most teams – three sets – but McLaren have selected even more.
Scuderia Ferrari Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen has chosen a less conservative approach than team-mate Sebastian Vettel, with just one set of Mediums, five Softs and seven Supersofts for the next race. Just one week later, when the Italian Grand Prix will take place in Monza, Kimi Raikkonen will be able to use one set of Mediums, two Softs and ten Supersofts, while Sebastian Vettel decided to go for an extra set of Mediums and only one set of Softs for the Monza weekend.
Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas will have six sets of the super-soft tyres, one fewer than rivals Ferrari, while some drivers will have up to nine sets of the softest tyres available. McLaren, however, have uniquely chosen more sets of the soft compound rubber than the super-soft. Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne will have just four sets of super-softs each.
Last year’s Belgian Grand Prix was won by Hamilton on a two-stop strategy. He used a set of ultra-softs (which have not been nominated this year) and two sets of soft tyres.
2018 Belgian Grand Prix tyre selections
| Driver | Team | Tyres |
|---|---|---|
| Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes |    |
| Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | |
| Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | |
| Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | |
| Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | |
| Max Verstappen | Red Bull | |
| Sergio Perez | Force India | |
| Esteban Ocon | Force India | |
| Lance Stroll | Williams | |
| Sergey Sirotkin | Williams | |
| Carlos Sainz Jnr | Renault | |
| Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | |
| Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | |
| Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso | |
| Romain Grosjean | Haas | |
| Kevin Magnussen | Haas | |
| Fernando Alonso | McLaren | |
| Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | |
| Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | |
| Charles Leclerc | Sauber | |
2018 Italian Grand Prix tyre selections
| Driver | Team | Tyres |
|---|---|---|
| Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | |
| Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | |
| Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | |
| Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | |
| Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | |
| Max Verstappen | Red Bull | |
| Sergio Perez | Force India | |
| Esteban Ocon | Force India | |
| Lance Stroll | Williams | |
| Sergey Sirotkin | Williams | |
| Carlos Sainz Jnr | Renault | |
| Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | |
| Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | |
| Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso | |
| Romain Grosjean | Haas | |
| Kevin Magnussen | Haas | |
| Fernando Alonso | McLaren | |
| Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | |
| Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | |
| Charles Leclerc | Sauber | |
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