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The imposing Shanghai circuit is
wide, fast and flowing, with plenty of overtaking opportunities that
frequently make for entertaining races. For the third time this year, the P
Zero White medium, P Zero Yellow soft, and P Zero Red supersoft compounds
have been nominated.
THE CIRCUIT FROM A TYRE POINT OF VIEW:
- Weather conditions are nearly always unpredictable, which have a big
effect on tyre behaviour.
- As a result, graining is sometimes an issue when it’s cool: especially in
the early sessions.
- Around 80% of the lap is spent cornering, meaning that lateral loads are a
crucial factor.
- The track is front limited, because of all the turns and high-energy
corners.
- The crucial corners are Turn 1, which is almost a full circle, and Turn
13, which is banked.
- Drivers also have to avoid wheelspin out of the corners, in order to
minimise rear degradation.
THE THREE NOMINATED COMPOUNDS:
- White medium: a low working range compound that is one of the most
versatile in the range.
- Yellow soft: a high working range compound with the accent on performance.
- Red supersoft: a low working range compound that is rapid but with a
limited overall life.
HOW IT WAS A YEAR AGO:
- Winner: Hamilton (two stops: started on soft, changed to soft on lap 14,
medium on lap 33).
- Best-placed alternative strategy: Massa, fifth (also stopping twice, but
starting on soft, changing to medium on lap 13, then medium again on lap
34).
- Most drivers stopped twice, but a few drivers also tried a three-stopper.
The race strategy was affected by a late safety car, which extended tyre
life.
PAUL HEMBERY, PIRELLI MOTORSPORT DIRECTOR:
- “China is a very different type of circuit to the two that we’ve visited
up to now this year, yet the tyre nomination is the same, which underlines
the adaptability of our product under a wide range of circumstances.
Shanghai is also likely to be quite a cool race, although the nature of the
place means that anything is possible, so teams will have to keep an open
mind on strategy and carefully correlate the data captured in practice to
the eventual race conditions. The three compounds selected have led to a
number of different tactical permutations up to now, and we expect an ample
variety of strategies once more in China.”
WHAT’S NEW?
- Fresh articles on www.pirelli.com about the racing scene, culture and
history in China.
- Qualifying: the former system will now return. This will not affect tyre
allocations.
- Different thinking from teams on tyre selection: Haas, McLaren and
Williams have made the most aggressive choice by taking a maximum seven sets
of supersoft.
- For the first time, Pirelli will be the title sponsor of the Chinese Grand
Prix. The second Pirelli-sponsored event this year will be the Spanish Grand
Prix from May 12-15.
OTHER THINGS THAT HAVE CAUGHT OUR EYE RECENTLY:
- Stoffel Vandoorne: in Bahrain an assured grand prix debut that also proves
the effectiveness of GP2 when it comes to teaching drivers about tyre
management.
- The launch of the new P Zero road car tyre in Estoril, last used for a
grand prix 20 years ago.
- Talk of a possible return to Las Vegas. The Caesar’s Palace Grand Prix was
previously run in 1981 and 1982, being the championship decider in both
cases. |
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