Pirelli: Indian GP will be a two-stopper
In previous years the Italian company has nominated the hard and soft compound tires for the event at the Buddh International Circuit, however, this time they have gone for a ‘slightly more aggressive choice’, with medium tires replacing the hards.
“We’ve decided to go for the P Zero White medium and P Zero Yellow soft tires in India this year, which we think will be the best combination for the Buddh circuit and lead to closer racing," explained Hembery.
“For the last two years running we’ve actually gone for the hard and soft compounds, which might have been slightly on the conservative side, so this year we’ve gone for a softer and slightly more aggressive choice.
“As a result, just like the last race in Japan, we’re not expecting to see a particularly big variation in lap times between the two compounds. Consequently, the strategy made a very big difference in Japan and this should be the same in India.
“We only had one pit stop per car in India last year, but this year we would expect two – which also provides the drivers and teams with more opportunities to make up places."
Hembery also went on to add that India can be a demanding circuit for the rubber: “With varying elevations and a wide variety of corners India provides the tires with quite a test, as there are forces coming from all directions, so tire management will once again prove to be important. As usual, it should be very warm in India, which increases thermal degradation as well," he continued.
“This looks set to be a decisive race for the championship too so we hope that our tire choice will help to make it a memorable contest with high-quality racing," he concluded