Tyres: Toro Rosso and Williams get hyper for Abu Dhabi

Pirelli tyres for Mercedes AMG F1.
© XPB 

Toro Rosso and Williams have both requested ten sets of hypersoft tyres for their drivers to use in next weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit.

Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll back this up with two sets of ultrasofts and just one of the supersofts, while their respective team mates Brendon Hartley and Sergey Sirotkin flip the numbers round in their selection.

Each driver on the grid gets 13 sets of tyres in total for the race weekend, with one set of each of the three available Pirelli compounds included by default. After that they're free to choose how to use their allocations.

Bulking up on the hypersoft tyre would be an 'aggressive' strategy for a driver, one that prioritises speed over durability.

At the other end of the spectrum, the team choosing the least number of hypersoft tyres is Renault. Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz will have just seven sets of the pink-walled compound available to them for the season finale.

Hulkenberg takes the rest of his allocation as ultras, save for the one mandatory set of supersofts. Sainz prefers to double up on the latter which means that he will have four sets of the purple ultra on hand.

The majority of teams - including all of the drivers in the Big Three teams - are almost as conservative in their choice. Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, Haas and Sauber have all requested eight sets of ultras.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas make identical selections with three sets of ultras and two supersofts, which is the same choice of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen.

Just to be contrary, Ferrari do it the other way around: Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen take three sets of supersofts (and two of the ultra) suggesting a slightly more cautious approach by the Scuderia compared to their closest rivals.

That leaves two teams selecting nine sets of hypersofts for Abu Dhabi. Force India's Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon round out the numbers with a couple of sets each of the remaining compounds.

That's the same approach taken by McLaren's Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne, in what is the last drive in Formula 1 for both drivers, at least for the time being.

Pirelli infographic showing tyre selections for the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

© Pirelli Motorsport

It's also the final time the current naming system for tyres will be used. In future the three compounds brought to the event by Pirelli will simply called hard, medium and soft regardless of the actual compound it's made from.

Last year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix saw a uniformity of tyre and pit stop strategies, with most drivers starting on ultras and switching midway through to supersofts. However, in general this year's compounds are considered to be one stop softer than their 2017 counterparts.

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