One of the more confusing and baffling rules of F1 is the tyre selection for the start of the race.
If a driver reaches Q3, they must start on the set of tyres in which they set their fastest Q2 lap. However, if they do not make it to the final part of qualifying, they are allowed to select any set of tyres they wish.
This can give drivers just outside the top 10 a strategy advantage heading into Sunday compared to those just inside, who often cannot run as long into the race on their used tyres.
For example, two weeks ago in Singapore, Fernando Alonso finished in seventh place, gaining vital points for himself and McLaren, after starting in P11. The Spaniard even went as far as describing his starting position as “perfect”.
With the hypersoft tyres in use once again here in Russia, Romain Grosjean has been the latest driver to take a swipe at the ruling.
He was asked if he though the rule was unfair, and replied: “Yes it’s definitely not [fair]. If here it’s the same situation we are not going to try to make it into Q3.
“I don’t think that’s great for F1, for the show and for ourselves neither, just thinking ‘oh I don’t want want to make it into Q3’.
“It’s really a big disadvantage, what’s the point of making qualifying then?”
Grosjean makes a good point as we often see drivers from just outside the top ten reach the points with those just inside falling out.