Mercedes Executive Technical Director Paddy Lowe thinks teams will pit far earlier at the Chinese Grand Prix than they did in Australia and Bahrain.
Lowe doesn’t think the supers-soft compound tyres, which most drivers are likely to start on as they are expected to be the best qualifying tyre, will last anywhere near as long around the Shanghai International Circuit as they did at Albert Park and Sakhir.
Most drivers managed to get over ten laps out of the super-softs at both of these tracks before needing to pit but Lowe feels the high tyre degradation – which is usually common around the Shanghai circuit – could mean we see drivers pitting as early as lap five this weekend.
Pirelli has retained medium, soft and super-soft compounds for China, exactly the same compounds that were on offer to each driver in the previous two races.
Speaking to Motosport.com Lowe said “The Shanghai circuit places an entirely different duty on tyres relative to Melbourne and Bahrain”
“It’s the first time we’ll see the supersoft compound used at this track, thanks to the new regulations, and that will likely create a more extreme example of what we saw in Bahrain, where the best qualifying tyre is unlikely to be a great race tyre.”
“Every team is bound to want to qualify on the supersoft – but if it grains in the race, we could see cars stopping in the first five laps.”
Both Hamilton’s and Rosberg’s tyre choices would suggest Mercedes won’t be running the super-soft more than once in the race as both drivers have opted for less super-soft tyres than their main rivals.
“There will be plenty of analysis to do on Friday and we could see some interesting calls on qualifying and race strategy.” added Lowe.
China has been known for its unpredictable weather conditions and Lowe doesn’t expect this weekend to be any different.
“What makes this all the more difficult for the teams is the unpredictability of the conditions,”
“It can be quite warm in Shanghai – but it can also be as cool as Belgium.
“That variability can make life tricky in terms of both set-up and strategy work, so it’s always a challenging weekend.”
