From the moment Pirelli officially announced the tyre allocation for the weekend in Azerbaijan, many wondered whether we would see a repeat of what happened at Imola and Montreal, with the C6 not enjoying as much of an advantage over the C5 (a compound that's usually used as a soft tyre on circuits where degradation is not a particular threat).
Further credence to this hypothesis was given by the layout of the Baku circuit, with a straight stretch of over two kilometres - the longest in the entire championship - and lower temperatures than in previous editions. All these factors combined would have led to a drop in front tyre temperature of around 40 degrees, a pitfall that risked creating considerable difficulties on the approach to turn 1, the first in a series of 90-degree braking points that are taken with the wheels straight.
The first signs in free practice
The scenario described above took shape on Friday: the teams chose to use the most familiar compound; among the four top teams, only Lewis Hamilton used one of the three sets of yellow tyres available, while the others opted for one more red tyre than usual.
The same thing happened again this morning in FP3, with the use of C5 reduced to zero, making it clear that the intention was to save all three sets (with the exception of the British Ferrari driver) for the afternoon session.
Confirmation in qualifying
It was enough to watch the cars leaving the pit-lane to confirm the teams' strategy from the first run in Q1, when McLaren and Red Bull made their attempt with C5 compound tyres. However, the situation changed during the second push, with all drivers lining up (except Lando Norris, who opted for new soft tyres), but having to complete two preparation laps, as the yellow tyres were - as expected - losing temperature on the straight.
In the end it was the C6 that prevailed, giving Max Verstappen pole position with 1:41.117, although - not counting the time set by number 4, which was affected by a mistake at turn 15 - the C5 compound also made its mark in the top eight positions. Despite the soft tyre pack in the last attempt, the only two drivers to have chosen the yellow tyres, Sainz and Antonelli, still finished in the top four, with the Italian finishing just ten thousandths of a second behind Liam Lawson's red tyre.
Read also: Sainz second in Baku: «The speed is there, now I want the podium»
Read also: Carlos Sainz and the rain dance
