I prefer to finish on the best tire regardless of where I start. I also set my QT using the worst of the tire options available and do all my practice with that tire so that I am most aware of my performance envelope with that tire. Doing it this way allows me to maximize pace on the laps with the hardest tire knowing that i have the softest tire waiting after the stop.On the struggle bus at Yas Marina, 5 seconds off the fastest time in the world!
To avoid destroying what’s left of my DR, I’ve been over at Fuji where my QT is the usual 2-3 seconds off the top times.
One question - are you all starting on softs if you’re at the sharp end of the grid? I’ve noticed in recent multi-tire races that some drivers choose the harder compound even if they’re at the front. I assume this is because the early laps are crowded and you can’t use the pace of the faster tire? Otoh, maybe softs allow you to get away and not get caught in the opening laps melee?
I started on softs last night (I was P2) and escaped the chaos, but then got caught by soft runners at the end of the race.
Used to be I would start on the softest if I were in the top 3 in qualifying because it would help to pull away but I'm not consistently good enough to maintain those gaps when switching to the worse tire.