Pirelli underlines Ferrari's aggressive tyre choice for Spa

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Ferrari's tyre choice for this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix underlines the Scuderia's outright aggressive approach compared to its main rivals Mercedes and Red Bull.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have chosen only four sets each of Pirelli's SuperSoft compound, which is the fewest of any team, while Red Bull will have six sets of the softest compound at its disposal.

In contrast, Ferrari have selected seven sets of the SuperSoft rubber, despite its limited durability according to Pirelli's Paul Hembery.

"You can’t imagine many laps coming from a supersoft at Spa, that's for sure," Hembery told F1i.

"It’s going to have limitations so that’s going to be interesting to see how they all play out with that. The race tyre is likely to be the soft, possibly the medium, the medium tyre has worked very well there in the past.

"But that’s the point of having the three compounds, they can take a particular direction that they feel suits their car, their performance and the strategy that they’re trying to follow. We’ll see how it pans out."

Asked whether Mercedes choice was more in line with what Pirelli expected, Hembery agreed.

"Yes, you’d say yes, but then everyone has got their own idea and concept of what they want to do this year and I think that’s good.

" It’s good, so we’re happy for them to go down that route and try something a bit different."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.