Are medium tires Ferrari’s secret weapon after Australia Qualifying?
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc both looked impressive during the 2026 Australian Grand Prix qualifying session, but could they have an even better race?
Although it’s nothing new to see a Formula 1 team take a risk on the medium tires in a qualifying session, Ferrari’s choice caught my attention for multiple reasons. While the two Scuderia drivers did well in qualifying, I’m more interested in our potential race pace. Hamilton was the third-fastest driver on the grid when running the medium tire compound in Q1, with Leclerc also just a tenth of a second away from Kimi Antonelli despite being on the slower tire.
The Medium Tire Compound Might Win Ferrari The Melbourne GP
As mentioned, using the medium tire while your rivals go for the more conventional soft is usually just a smart way to save a set of tires for later in the qualifying session. However, when teams do this, they usually just about get out of Q1, but Ferrari didn’t do that. We were very competitive against everyone else on the soft tires, including both the Mercedes drivers who I reckon have the fastest car on the grid in Melbourne. Just take a look at our Australian Grand Prix Q1 sector times compared to George Russell who was the fastest driver in Q1:
- George Russell: S1: 27.908, S2: 17.413, S3: 34.186
- Lewis Hamilton: S1: 27.944, S2: 17.609, S3: 34.258
- Charles Leclerc: S1: 28.211, S2: 17.611, S3: 34.404
You might look at these sector times and not find them very impressive. However, the medium tires can be up to one second slower per lap depending on the car and track combo. Meaning to be within touching distance of the Mercedes is very impressive and could be a deciding factor come race day.
If Ferrari are capable of keeping up with the rest of the front runners while running the medium tire compound, that will give us more flexibility with the race strategy and should mean that our overall pace is faster than our rivals. If this is the case, I personally prefer to have a car that can compete over race distance instead of getting pole position in qualifying and then slipping down the order once the points are being handed out. But maybe I’m getting ahead of myself and this was just a simple tire-saving strategy. However, if that’s the case, why didn’t other teams try it? Ferrari was the only team to run the medium tire during qualifying in Melbourne, and to me, that shows we’re confident in the race package we’ve brought to Australia!
If you need some light reading before the Australian Grand Prix starts, check out my top 10 best Ferrari drivers of all time here.
