Sunday 19 April 2015

Pirelli Bahrain Grand Prix Race Report

(Pirelli Motorsport Media)

Pirelli went into Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir International Circuit predicting a two stop race strategy.

The front runners all started the race on the yellow walled Soft tyre that they used in the final part of qualifying and while most of the drivers went onto the Soft tyre at their first pit stop’s Kimi Raikkonen went onto the Medium compound tyre for his middle stint of the race.

The Finn then went onto the yellow walled Option tyre for his final stint which allowed the Scuderia Ferrari driver to finish the race in second place to take his first podium for Ferrari since the 2009 Italian Grand Prix.

McLaren Honda’s Fernando Alonso and Infiniti Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo completed the most consecutive laps on the Soft tyre as they completed 21 laps. The Williams Martini Racing Team’s Felipe Massa completed the most consecutive laps on the Medium compound tyres completing 32 laps.

Lewis Hamilton’s race winning strategy was a two stopper going from the Option to the Option tyre and making his final stop for the Medium compound tyre. Speaking following the race Pirelli Motorsport Director Paul Hembery stated:

It was a very competitive race with plenty of overtaking and good pace from both compounds. There was a big mixture of strategies, featuring both two and three stop options, with a highlight being the alternative two-stop strategy chosen by Kimi Raikkonen, using the medium tyre during the middle stint. This opened up the question of which tyre he should use for the final stint, with some people thinking that the medium tyre would be better suited to the falling temperatures. However, the way he drove his final stint, and the fastest lap that he set on the soft compound, fully justifies the decision and contributed to a very exciting finish.

© Ben Johnston 2015


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