Same tires at China as in Australia
Changes to the calendar mean that the Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix takes place just six months after the last event here. That race was won by Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton using a hard-hard-medium tire strategy.
This season the move to slick tires means new tire allocations for races, so China will see the medium and super soft tires allocated – the same tires as used in the Australian Grand Prix – giving the teams and drivers a tough challenge for tire management.
Shanghai has two long straights and sixteen corners of varying types over its 5.45 km. Heavy braking, extreme lateral loads and high demands on traction are just some of the factors that Bridgestone’s medium and super soft compound Potenza tires will encounter.
Turns 2 and 7 are likely to induce tire graining, whilst the high lateral G-force generated through the sequence of turns 7-8 will place strong demands on the tires’ construction and heat durability. A two stop pit strategy has been the favored option in the past, as running with a heavy car as required for a one-stop strategy is likely to be very detrimental to lap times and cause heavier wear to the tires. There is an element of gradient changes over the course of a lap as well as an element of banking in turn 13.
Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tire Development, said:
What are the challenges of Shanghai?
“Shanghai International Circuit is severe on tires. There are very high lateral forces and we expect to see graining on the front left tires, especially caused by the increasing radius turn two and the banked turn thirteen. We could also see graining on the rear tires here too. The circuit layout means that a medium downforce set-up will be used, as there are two long straights, but a large percentage of the track is also very twisty and technical. For the teams and drivers, finding the correct set-up to make the best use of their tires will be a big challenge."
We will see the super soft compound in use again, how difficult will tire management be?
“In Australia there was a particular challenge of graining on the super soft tire, however this graining varied across the teams between the front and the rear, which means that the correct compromise set- up for these new cars is still being found. For this reason we would expect less graining in China as the teams now have better understanding of their cars than at the first race. Also, Shanghai is a permanent race track so the track surface should be better."
Stats & Facts
Number & Spec of tires brought to China: 1800 (Medium & super soft dry. intermediate/wets
Pole position time 2008: 1min 36.303secs (Hamilton)
Fastest race lap 2008: 1min 36.325secs (Hamilton)
Top three 2008: Hamilton, Massa, Raikkonen