Towards a one-stop race at the Russian GP

The Russian GP tests showed good resistance of the Pirelli tires. The manufacturer of the F1 therefore consider a one-stop race if the weather remains dry to complete the 53 laps. However, the latest forecasts indicate that rain should not disrupt the event.

Drivers starting on soft tires should stop between the 15th and 19th laps to finish the race on hard compounds. Those starting on medium tires would stop between the 14th and 22nd laps to also finish with the white rubber. In the leading group, only Mercedes de Lewis Hamilton et Valtteri Bottas will leave with the yellow striped erasers.

Another possible strategy is to start on soft tires (22nd – 26th lap) and finish with medium tires, but this approach would be less effective. The least obvious strategy would be to make two stops with the first two stints on soft tires and a final stint on medium compounds.

Pirelli says “undercuts” like those seen in Singapore last weekend are less likely to occur due to the low degradation.

“We should see all three tire compounds being used. Sochi is not the easiest circuit for overtaking and we can expect big fights over strategies.”, commented Mario Isola, Pirelli's F1 manager.

During the tests, Kimi Räikkönen (Alfa Romeo) covered the most laps on hard tires with 17 laps covered. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) completed 28 with the mediums and Lance stroll (Racing Point) 23 with the softs.