A failed attempt yesterday by Mercedes to qualify on Pirelli's ultrasoft tyre has put in doubt the viability of a one-stop strategy for the Monaco Grand Prix.
Alerted by higher levels of degradation than expected of the hypersoft rubber which teams had stocked up on for this weekend, both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were ordered to try a run in Q2 on the purple-rimmed ultrasoft.
Unfortunately, the delta between the two compounds - about 1 second around Monte Carlo - made the choice of starting the race on the hypersoft a self-evident one.
"We were optimistic, keen to try to find out whether we could qualify on the ultra because starting the race on the hyper will be tough," admitted Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
"We’ve seen a lot of graining on the front left and we’ve seen some degradation on the rear.
"Probably the one who is in the lead is going to manage the pace very carefully in the race tomorrow and still run out of tyre after a few laps.
"It could be quite a tricky situation and you would want to avoid the hyper.”
Valtteri Bottas insists the gamble on Saturday was worth a shot, but the Finn has his reservations about a one-stop run to the checkered flag this afternoon.
"I think it [the ultra] is a decent race tyre. I think we can do relatively long stint with the ultra. Small issues with graining, but nothing compared to the hyper," said Bottas.
"We struggled quite a lot in practice, so I think honestly, starting with the hyper it is going to be difficult to do a one-stop."
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