Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli has outlined the potential strategy options for Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
Pirelli has brought the three hardest tyres from its range of five compounds to Sakhir, with the C1 the Hard tyre, the C2 the Medium and the C3 the Soft.
Last year’s event was won by the one-stopping Sebastian Vettel, though only after his initial two-stop plan was aborted when a Ferrari mechanic was struck during Kimi Raikkonen’s stop, preventing Vettel from being able to pit.
For Sunday’s twilight race the top nine starters, along with the penalised Haas of Romain Grosjean, will start on the Soft tyres.
The remaining drivers will have free choice of starting tyre for the 57-lap Grand Prix.
“Quickest on paper is: start on Medium for 20 laps, then finish the race on Hard,” Pirelli explained.
“But as nobody in the top 10 of the grid will be starting on Medium, the second-quickest strategy is looking promising: start on the Soft for 15 laps, then Hard to the end.
“There are a few two-stoppers that could also work. The best two-stopper is: start on the Soft tyre for 15 laps, then Medium for 21 laps, then another set of Mediums to the end. We might see other variations on this theme as well
“There’s another one-stop strategy that the teams could also try. Start on Soft for 22 laps, then Medium to the end. But this one is definitely slower – in theory, at least.”
Rear degradation is often an issue at Sakhir due to the warm temperatures and the volume of heavy traction zones exiting the straights.
