With a nomination that’s one step softer compared to last weekend and a track that is notoriously demanding on tyres, the teams certainly had plenty to think about and try out in free practice, even though they were only here a week ago. With two stops likely to be the norm on Sunday, a wide variety of race strategies are possible. As expected on the softest compound in particular, we saw some blistering, but also a very rapid speed over one lap that’s likely to lead to a new track record this weekend. There’s no doubt that the soft won’t be the favoured race tyre, so the challenge is to get the most out of it as part of an overall grand prix weekend strategy, which will start with the decisions made during qualifying tomorrow. The information gained today will be an important part of that decision-making process.