Daniil Kvyat hopes Red Bull's aggressive tyre choice for the Russian Grand Prix “will pay off later in the weekend”.
The Milton Keynes outfit has selected 10 sets of supersofts for both its drivers, with only two sets of softs and one of mediums also available to Kvyat and team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.
While very low-grip conditions in Friday practice suited the red-marked compound, the track is expected to improve gradually as more rubber is laid down. Asked whether he was worried about the amount of supersofts he has compared to other tyres, Kvyat replied:
“I think time will show obviously, I think Friday maybe wasn’t the most real thing but who knows maybe it will pay off later in the weekend. I think we have to decide first... Anyway we had both compounds on Friday [soft and supersoft] and I think the super-softs work fine.
“Short runs, long runs, we changed the tyre to see which one works better or different, so it will be interesting on Saturday to understand a strategy for qualifying. It seems like we can play around a little bit more than usual here and the race pace will be interesting too so there are plenty of things to think about.”
As part of new regulations, teams can now pick from three different tyre compounds nominated by official supplier Pirelli, with an allocation of 13 sets per driver.
Of those 13 sets, Pirelli will select two sets that have to be allocated for the race (of which a driver must use one set), while a set of the softest available compound may only be used in Q3. Teams are then free to choose the remaining ten sets.
REPORT: Hamilton quickest as Vettel hits trouble in FP2
AS IT HAPPENED: Russian Grand Prix - FP2
Silbermann says ... 'Russia OK' shock
Romain Grosjean column: Haas brought back down to earth
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Lewis Hamilton was particularly happy with his opening day of running at the Las Vegas…
Red Bull fears that its prospects for this weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix - which…
Ferrari and Mercedes have both modified their car’s floor element in Las Vegas to comply…
Lewis Hamilton put Mercedes on top of the timesheets for the second time in Las…
Full results from Free Practice 2 for the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas,…
Charles Leclerc believes that Ferrari has a genuine “shot” at beating rival McLaren to Formula…