The knife-edge performance of Pirelli's new softest C6 compound has prompted teams to try some unusual tyre blanket tactics in a bid to unleash its best performance.
Ahead of an intriguing qualifying day for the Monaco Grand Prix, where teams will need to make a critical call on which is the best tyre to use, there remains some uncertainty about how the C6 is going to fare.
While it definitely offers more performance and better peak grip, its softness is causing a movement under heavy loads that some drivers do not like, plus it is very thermally sensitive.
But with teams not really wanting to run the medium tyres - because they take longer to fire up and they want to keep sets of them for the race - there is no clear direction about which is the best way to go in qualifying.
The key appears to be for teams to find a way to get the C6 into the perfect operating window so it maximises its performance over a whole qualifying lap.
One tactic that has emerged is for teams to not heat the tyre as much as they normally would – so it leaves the pits in a much cooler condition.
F1's regulations stipulate that teams are allowed to heat the tyre and sidewall of slick tyres to a maximum temperature of 70C and for a maximum duration of two hours.
Teams normally make this their ideal target, as they want to get the tyres as close as possible to their performance operating window.
Not heating the tyres up to the 70C limit means that they will reach their ideal temperature much later – which would hopefully be exactly when it is needed for their critical qualifying lap.
This tactic of not heating tyres as much was something that Pirelli spotted already in play at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix last weekend, and it has flared up again in Monaco.
Chief engineer Simone Berra said: "We saw the teams did some experiments on the blankets.
"Some teams decided to reduce the blanket temperatures compared to the [maximum] 70-degrees to try to have the peak of grip, not on the out-lap or in the first part of the push lap, but more consistently throughout it.
"I guess that's why some teams found better performance on the C6 compared to others, and that's why, probably in Imola, there was this difference between teams."
While there are temperature benefits that come from not heating tyres as much, one of the downsides is that it will result in the tyre being at a higher pressure when it is up to its operating window.
Berra reckoned however that this compromise was not such a headache for teams over a single qualifying lap.
"They are not interested too much on the pressure you reach because it's just one lap," he said.
"You could also decide to start [the lap] with a higher pressure and this could be beneficial to get the tyres working properly.
"We have seen in the past using higher pressure at some other circuits, for example, because it was beneficial for the stiffness of the tyre under loads in the fast corners."
While some teams are unsure about the direction they will take for qualifying – and it is not impossible some will opt to use a C5 medium for their final qualifying effort – Berra thinks the C6 soft will likely be the preferred option.
"Here they are able to extract a little bit more performance from the C6," he said.
"The feedback we received was that the C6 peak of grip was higher, but also they were able to extract a good performance on the push lap and to have good confidence on it.
"I think having fewer high-speed corners, it's easier to extract a peak of grip from the softer compounds because there is less movement."
Based on running from Friday, five drivers already look committed to not running the medium in qualifying because it would leave them without any fresh sets of it for the race.
Those drivers who ran two sets of mediums in Friday practice so only have one fresh set left are Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson.
