(Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team)
Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team’s Lewis Hamilton put the
Pirelli P-Zero yellow walled Soft compound tyre to good use at the Shanghai
International Circuit on Saturday to claim pole position for tomorrow’s Chinese
Grand Prix.
The reigning world champion claimed his third pole position
in a row. The track temperatures were unseasonably high for the time of year
and Hamilton led home an all Mercedes front row with a frustrated Nico Rosberg
in second place. Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel will start the race from
the second row of the grid in third place alongside Williams Martini Racing
Team’s Felipe Massa.
The Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team and Scuderia Ferrari are
the only two teams in the top ten to have a new set of the Soft compound tyre
for Sunday’s race.
Pirelli predict that on paper a three stop strategy is
fastest way to go however most teams are likely to opt for a two stop strategy.
However, for those who do decide on a three stop race, the fastest is to start
on the Soft change to the Soft on lap 10, Soft again on lap 25 before making a
final stop for the white walled Medium compound tyre on lap 43.
The best two stop strategy is to start the race on the Soft
compound tyre and then stop on lap 12 for another set of the Soft tyre and then
the Medium tyre on lap 27. Speaking about qualifying, Pirelli Motorsport
Director Paul Hembery stated:
‘We’re expecting similar weather conditions for
the race as we have seen today, so this should open up a number of strategic
options with the increased performance of the soft tyre. However, we’ve also
seen quite a few differences in tyre performances within the teams, so this
provides an interesting variable. With the tyres of course being identical for
everybody, it’s down to every team to make the most of the package they have
and this will be the focus of the data analysis tonight. We would expect two pit
stops for most drivers, but there is scope to do something different: China has
often produced close and unpredictable racing in the past.’
© Ben Johnston 2015
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