Tyre gradation proving to be the X-factor for this Sunday’s race

[Dinesh]

If practice so far is anything to go by, the high tyre degradation being experienced at Sepang by the Formula one teams will turn this Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix into a highly tactical affair that will see the best strategy to conserve tyres bring about a victor.

The high track temperatures and abrasive surface of the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) has lead to some very high wear rate on the Pirelli tyres. Early predictions foreshadow the soft compound tyres lasting around eight laps if they are used for qualifying and then raced on.

That would mean that the car will have to run a three-stop strategy. Nonetheless, the teams are optimistic about stretching the hard compound tyres up to 20 laps, possibly allowing them to run one less stop and putting them in a cruising position for a god finish.

“I think on average we are going to see three stops, and I would be surprised if it is four. This is only Friday and we've got full running tomorrow and in the race, so things can change,” said Paul Hambery, Pirelli’s Director of Motorsport.

“In Melbourne, we saw quite a rapid evolution of the track, although I am not sure if that was representative. But, at the moment, you are looking at 12-14 laps on the hard tyre – with some evolution to arrive at 18 laps. That brings you pretty close to a three-stop strategy. You will probably also get some people who will try and two-stop. This circuit is tough. With a 50-degrees asphalt temperature, aggressive wear, it means that the degradation is more than what we saw in Melbourne for sure. But equally it is pretty close to what we were trying to create,” he added.

The one second difference between the soft and hard compound tyres might actually see some teams sacrificing grid position during qualifying to start on the harder compound tyres for the race proper, reckons Hambery.

He also thinks that Red Bull might be running a completely different strategy to the rest of the field because their cars are just so much quicker than everybody else.

Source: Autosport