Solved

Medium tires

So... I've heard that in terms of strategy, medium tires are the worst option possible. Apparently they were overpowered, and they got nerfed into the ground. For my first racing season I've for the avoided medium tires like the plague. But for the upcoming Japanese iGP at Suzuka... I'm wondering if the mediums might just work. The temperatures seem to be in a narrow band where softs will overheat and hards will be rather cold (28-30 degrees Celsius). Should I try to use the mediums, or just stick with softs?

I'm a complete noob, but I've read some similar posts about Mediums. From what I've read, the mediums aren't a good choice, BUT there will absolutely be some instances where they are indeed the better option. I look at it as "Mediums Are Evil," is a rule of thumb, not a law.

28-30C is actually decently hot and well within H's working range.

Hards will perform better than Mediums pace-wise; this is why Mediums are mostly obsolete, as since M and H usually run similar stint lengths, you'd go for the faster and more durable tyre, which the Hards are.

The one definite advantage Mediums have is that they are most likely to qualify higher than all the Hards runners, especially when you have similar performing cars as them. This gives Mediums an initial track position advantage, and is why they are arguably most useful only in the first stint and against a good number of H starters.

To illustrate the pace advantage H have over M, H are faster than M in Brazil, even in 16C weather. There are a few other tracks where H works really well even in low temps, making a number of managers suggest that H seem a little overpowered, though nowhere near how OP Meds were in open beta.