Isola: Hard tires have shown stable performance

      Before the Chinese Grand Prix, Pirelli tire specialists assumed that the main tactical scheme on Sunday would be a two-pit-stop option, but at the same time, the hard-rubber teams did not work on the previous days of the weekend, so no one had a real idea how many laps it could withstand.

      It turned out that the Hard tires are very resistant to wear and degradation, and most of the participants in the race were able to overcome its distance with a single pit stop. However, Ferrari still chose a two-stop circuit in the pits for Lewis Hamilton, while Red Bull Racing used this tactic in the case of Liam Lawson.

      Mario Isola, director of Pirelli Motorsport: "At this Grand Prix, it was necessary to find out how hard tires would work on the Shanghai circuit, which was one of the key points. Clearly, the information gathered during the first two days of the weekend, especially during the sprint, gave the teams an idea of how to adjust the settings to maximize the degradation of the front tires, which are most susceptible to it.

      Due to the improved track condition, the degradation of Medium tires decreased compared to what we observed during the short race, although it still remained significant on some teams' cars.

      But in the case of rigid tires, it turned out that they are subject to only moderate degradation and, more importantly, they demonstrated stable efficiency over very long stretches of the race. Several riders on these tires could attack even at the end of the Grand Prix, for example, Max Festappen.

      When evaluating the behavior of the C2 rubber, we must remember that it has undergone the most significant changes from the 2025 lineup, so the teams have not yet studied it well enough.

      In general, the events on the track during the Chinese weekend developed according to an interesting scenario, primarily due to the condition of the asphalt surface, the improvement of which contributed to a significant increase in speeds. For example, today's best lap result was 2.741 seconds better than a year ago.

      The double stages of the start of the season are behind us, but now, after a short break, Formula 1 is waiting for a series of three races in a row, which will take place on tracks that are very different in nature. At the same time, they all promise us an exciting fight, starting with the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, scheduled for the first weekend of April."