Two pit stops are expected at Pirelli

      Increased rubber wear on the new asphalt of the Shanghai highway was one of the key factors this weekend. Pirelli expects two pit stops in tomorrow's race…

      Mario Isola, head of Pirelli Motorsport: "A day of records. In qualifying, a new track record was set, and in the sprint, the winner drove laps four seconds faster than a year ago, although the temperature was much higher then.

      Thus, from year to year we see a huge increase in the efficiency of the machines, much more than what was calculated on the simulator based on the information provided by the teams. Therefore, it was absolutely logical for us to increase the minimum starting pressure by 1 psi on each axis.

      The level of tire degradation leads us to assume that two pit stops will be mandatory on both Medium and Hard. Although the new Soft line-up is close to Medium in performance, we do not consider it the right choice for the race, even if it provides more grip on the starting straight. Those starting from the back can choose Hard to maximize the length of the first leg and then catch up on the pit stops.

      What we can be sure of is that an unpredictable and interesting race awaits us. In the sprint qualification, the top three were divided by only 80 thousandths, and today it is 82. This is further evidence of the high density of competition in Formula 1 at the beginning of the 2025 season."