Question marks for Verstappen: Which tyre will he qualify on?

Everyone who has explained Formula 1 hears the same thing: the softer the tyre, the more grip and the faster you can go, so much for the theory. In practice, it turns out to be much more stubborn, as will become clear this weekend in Monaco with the super-soft C6.

Yes, Max Verstappen can go a little faster on the soft tyre compared to the mediums. However, there is a minimal difference, while the Red Bull Racing driver felt much less comfortable with this new Pirelli tyre. That raises the question of whether Verstappen should or will qualify on the red tyre later in the afternoon.

It might be wisest to put down a banker lap on the mediums - and given the balance of power in FP3 he is probably already very competitive - and then screw down the red belt and refine his time.

In any case, the C6 is a very interesting tyre that is very fast once in the right window. But getting and keeping that tyre in the right window turns out to be a hell of a job. For example, Verstappen's first fast lap on the red tyre during FP3, in which the Dutchman recorded a first sector in purple. But halfway through the lap, the Pirelli tyre started to deteriorate, which meant that Verstappen could not make any further steps forward.

In the end, Charles Leclerc got the best control of the red tyre and then kept it to set the fastest time of the day. He did not do that in the first faster lap on the C6, but in his second.

In short, it could also be a very interesting qualifying later on Saturday because of the tyres.