Australian Grand Prix To be a Two Stop Event For Red Bull

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel expects the Australian Grand Prix to be a two stop race.

Much has been made of the reduced durability of this seasons new tyres from Pirelli. Formula One's new rubber supplier have deliberatly made their compounds wear faster than the Bridgestone tyres used last season in an effort to spice up the racing.

Some (including Mercedes Boss, Ross Brawn) were predicting that 3 stop races would be the norm, and that we would even see four tyre changes at some events.

In the post practice FIA press conference for the first Grand Prix of the season though, defending World Champion Sebastian Vettel, reckons that his Red Bull RB7 will only need to stop twice during the Australian race. The German driver expressed his pleasant suprise at how well the tyres seemed to last:

"Today we were, I wouldn’t say surprised, but in a way probably surprised as the tyre behaviour is different. No doubt compared to last year the tyres are different. You cannot compare. There is a big difference. But I think we expected worse conditions here in terms of how long the tyres last et cetera. I think this morning and this afternoon was quite useful and helped us understand what to do in the race on Sunday. So far I think it is positive. Still we cannot race with one stop only. I think we have to come in a couple of times so ultimately we will find out on Sunday if the track improves or not as it is also something we have seen in the test. In four days running the track does not rubber in so we will see how it is here, different tarmac, different track, different lay-out, different conditions but so far we are positively surprised."