Pirelli increases minimum tire pressure to counter degradation at the Chinese GP

Pirelli, official supplier of tires in Formula 1, has asked teams to increase minimum pressures in response to the track conditions in Shanghai. The layout of the Chinese circuit, which hosted the second GP of the season, has been completely resurfaced since last year's race. As a result, it is considerably smoother, allowing for increased cornering speed. Sir Lewis Hamilton is a witness to this with his Sprint pole position this morning as he set a new absolute circuit record of 1:30.849. Sebastian Vettel held the previous one since 2018.

Pirelli chief engineer Simone Berra said the track's new asphalt, now smoother and less abrasive, has allowed for grip levels that are " really surprising » before explaining that it was possible that lap times would be reduced even further for qualifying for the main race.

Even before the weekend began, the tire manufacturer had already increased its minimum pressures by 0,6 bar at the rear and 0,3 bar at the front. However, following Friday's testing, Pirelli decided to add an additional 0,6 bar to all tires to counteract the degradation. According to Pirelli's chief engineer, "There is significant graining on the left front tire, causing a drop in performance." Some drivers, like Alex Albon, noted this inconvenience: “ I think this is going to be an important topic of discussion." The Thai driver is banking on " a sprint race that was unfortunately boring in the first laps, then more intense towards the end of the race.

With degradation on the medium and soft tires appearing high, the teams have carefully saved their hard tires for Sunday's main race. As for the sprint race, scheduled to start this Saturday at 4:00 a.m. (French time), it will be an excellent opportunity to see each driver's pace over truly long runs. For this event, the medium tires should be the preferred choice.

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