F1 teams favour ultrasofts in Australian GP selections

Every team will have between seven and nine sets of the purple-walled tyre – the softest available compound for Melbourne.

The announcement of the Australian GP picks comes on the heels of pre-season testing in Barcelona, where many teams struggled to get to grips with the softer tyre compounds.

Mercedes was among those to suffer “issues with blistering on the softer compounds”, but it has nonetheless gone for nine sets of ultrasofts, the joint-highest number in the field.

In addition to the ultrasofts, reigning champion Lewis Hamilton has three sets of supersofts and one set of softs available, while Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas has two sets of each.

The Silver Arrows' expected main rivals Ferrari and Red Bull have each gone for a uniform tyre selection within its line-ups.

Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo will get eight sets of ultrasofts along with three sets of supersofts and two sets of softs, while Ferrari pair Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen will have one fewer set of ultrasofts and one more set of softs.

No driver has opted for more than three sets of the hardest available compound, but Renault pair Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg, as well as Haas driver Romain Grosjean, will have as many as four sets of supersofts.

Pirelli selected sets per driver

Photo by: Pirelli