2018 Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne, 22 -25 March

[marvin78]

Yeah bit that's the time teams are told what they CAN choose.

[dans79]

What is the mandatory use tires for the race, supersofts & ultra?

[F1NAC]

What is the mandatory use tires for the race, supersofts & ultra?

SS or S

[dans79]

Top teams are probably going to qualify and start on Ultras and then do two stints on SS. With the potential to stat and get stuck behind traffic, I can't see anyone starting on SS and then one stopping and going the rest of they way on S.

[DVB]

Don't forget the compounds all moved 1 spot.

If the top teams are fast enough to start on the SS or S, then they could stretch the first stint, gain enough lead and come back on a clean track without having to fight for overtaking slower teams.

[dans79]

Don't forget the compounds all moved 1 spot.

If the top teams are fast enough to start on the SS or S, then they could stretch the first stint, gain enough lead and come back on a clean track without having to fight for overtaking slower teams.

Softer tires mean a 1 stop is less likely because the tires won't last as long. Imo, this is going to be a 2 or 3 stop race.

[SiLo]

Don't forget the compounds all moved 1 spot.

If the top teams are fast enough to start on the SS or S, then they could stretch the first stint, gain enough lead and come back on a clean track without having to fight for overtaking slower teams.

Softer tires mean a 1 stop is less likely because the tires won't last as long. Imo, this is going to be a 2 or 3 stop race.

Good! I enjoy the races with 2/3 stops as sometimes we get a lot of anticipation from the start, and then excitement at the end.

[digitalrurouni]

No way that track will be 3 stops!

[Big Mangalhit]

Telling on the tire choices indeed. Potential for different strategies smacks on in the face. Maybe add some spice to the race come Sunday. Ferrari may make a go at trying to save both fuel and tires. Anyone know the pit window delta in Melbourne?

Good point! Makes sense with that if you need to save fuel you can synergize it with a more tyre saving strategy.

Although it could also be the case that Ferrari is not confident on their car yet (or will bring updates) and want a more durable tyre to use on FP to do more setup work on this first race. While Mercedes is very confident on their overall setup and wants more FP testing on this US tyre for this specific track since they didn't use it so much in testing. We'll see if the tyre difference will be kept until the race day or if by then both teams will have exactly the same tyre spec available.

[CriXus]

Top teams are probably going to qualify and start on Ultras and then do two stints on SS. With the potential to stat and get stuck behind traffic, I can't see anyone starting on SS and then one stopping and going the rest of they way on S.

Why not? The delta between US and SS is .4 to .6 of a second. If in Q2, the gap between the best time and the 10th on US is 1s to 1.2s, it is possible.

[dans79]

Top teams are probably going to qualify and start on Ultras and then do two stints on SS. With the potential to stat and get stuck behind traffic, I can't see anyone starting on SS and then one stopping and going the rest of they way on S.

Why not? The delta between US and SS is .4 to .6 of a second. If in Q2, the gap between the best time and the 10th on US is 1s to 1.2s, it is possible.

Because the tires have to last the length of the stint. You will not maintain that kind of delta while nursing the tires through a long stint. Not to mention they will degrade faster while stuck behind other cars.

[dans79]

Telling on the tire choices indeed. Potential for different strategies smacks on in the face. Maybe add some spice to the race come Sunday. Ferrari may make a go at trying to save both fuel and tires. Anyone know the pit window delta in Melbourne?

Good point! Makes sense with that if you need to save fuel you can synergize it with a more tyre saving strategy.

Although it could also be the case that Ferrari is not confident on their car yet (or will bring updates) and want a more durable tyre to use on FP to do more setup work on this first race. While Mercedes is very confident on their overall setup and wants more FP testing on this US tyre for this specific track since they didn't use it so much in testing. We'll see if the tyre difference will be kept until the race day or if by then both teams will have exactly the same tyre spec available.

The tires where picked weeks before testing.

[TAG]

Although it could also be the case that Ferrari is not confident on their car yet (or will bring updates) and want a more durable tyre to use on FP to do more setup work on this first race. While Mercedes is very confident on their overall setup and wants more FP testing on this US tyre for this specific track since they didn't use it so much in testing. We'll see if the tyre difference will be kept until the race day or if by then both teams will have exactly the same tyre spec available.

The tires where picked weeks before testing.

I think teams would have a pretty good idea of where their fuel consumption would be weeks before testing as well. I'm just excited about the potential for differing strategies, Ferrari are good at it, one area where they rise head and shoulders above Mercedes for sure.

[ripper]

Last year RB did a US-SS race, so it could be possible to do a US-S race this year, or take a gamble and do a Q2 with SS and do a SS-S race.

[GPR-A duplicate2]

I'm just excited about the potential for differing strategies, Ferrari are good at it, one area where they rise head and shoulders above Mercedes for sure.

On another note, on this circuit it is going to be impossible to overtake, unless a car is more than 3 seconds faster. If anyone from leading group gets stuck behind a top 10 car, the race is screwed.