F1 | Pirelli: different tire allocation with the Sprint format in China

Formula 1 returns to Shanghai after a five-year absence. In fact, the Chinese Grand Prix had not been held since 2019, which that year hosted the celebrations for the thousandth event in the history of the top automotive competition. The outbreak of the pandemic caused by COVID-19 and the consequent slow return to normality imposed a forced stop and today a thread that began to unravel almost twenty years ago is resumed. In fact, it was in 2004 – at the time the race took place in September – that the first edition of this Grand Prix was held.

All 16 editions were run on the Shanghai International Circuit, designed by Hermann Tilke along the lines of the ideogram shang (“upwards”). 5,451 meters long, the track has 16 corners, some very slow – such as the combination 1-3, 6 and 14 – or fast, such as the S composed of 7 and 8. There are two main straights, which also correspond to the two DRS zones: the start/finish one and the one, over a kilometer long, which connects curve 13, slightly elevated, to 14.

Based on simulations and historical data, the lateral and longitudinal forces to which the tires will be subjected should be within the average range, with the outer part, particularly on the left side of the car, subject to greater wear. The trio of compounds selected this winter to be brought to Shanghai is the medium one, with C2 as Hard, C3 as Medium and C4 as Soft. Nominally, this is the same selection as 2019 but the scenario is very different. Five years ago, in fact, the 13″ tires mounted on the previous generation of single-seaters were still used, characterized by a flat bottom and with completely different aerodynamics from the current one. In fact, it is almost as if we were starting from scratch: for the riders, for the teams and for Pirelli itself, given that the references are very vague.

Complicating the situation will also be the fact that the Chinese Grand Prix will be the first of the six scheduled for the season to adopt the Sprint format, which has also been slightly modified compared to last year both in terms of the order in which the sessions take place – free practice and Sprint qualifying on Friday, Sprint race and qualifying on Saturday, Grand Prix obviously on Sunday – both as management of parc fermé, which will be divided into two parts: one that includes qualifying and the Sprint race and one that starts before qualifying on Saturday afternoon.

However, there will only be one hour on Friday to find the best settings for the cars and, above all, to test the tires over a long distance on a track which will inevitably be in far from optimal conditions: it is foreseeable that the evolution the level of grip offered by the asphalt, which has remained unchanged since 2019 and has only been used in very few events between then and now, will be very significant as the cars put rubber on it. For the teams and drivers, the work carried out on the simulator will therefore be even more important than usual, both in preparation for the event and during it.

With the Sprint format, a different allocation of dry tires is also adopted, which is reduced from 13 to 12 sets (two Hard, four Medium and six Soft) while that of wet tires remains unchanged (five Intermediate and two Extreme Wet). The month of April in Shanghai traditionally features significant temperature changes, with fluctuations of over 10°C, adding a further unknown to the puzzle that teams and riders will face.

Usually, the Chinese Grand Prix is ​​a typical two-pit-stop race, also because the track offers several overtaking possibilities, both at the braking point of 14 and on the main straight as well as at the braking section of turn 6. As in Suzuka, also in Shanghai the undercut is traditionally very effective.

Of the twenty drivers entered in this year's race, only three have reached the top step of the podium in Shanghai: Lewis Hamilton (six times), Fernando Alonso (twice) and Daniel Ricciardo (once). There were also six pole positions obtained by Hamilton, who in total scored 204 points in this race. Among the teams, Mercedes is the record holder with six victories ahead of Ferrari (4), with Red Bull having won only twice: moreover, it was precisely here, in 2009, that Sebastian Vettel achieved the first of the 116 victories for the direct team , now as then, by Christian Horner.

Minimum pressures at the start (slick tyres)

Front: 26.0 psi
Rear: 22.0 psi

Maximum camber

Front: -3.00°
Rear: -1.75°

Compounds used

Pirelli PZero White Hard C2
Pirelli PZero Yellow Medium C3
Pirelli PZero Red Soft C4