Pirelli, Hembery: “The Sochi track will be a good test for the tires”

Pirelli - For the Russian Grand Prix Pirelli has chosen to bring the P Zero Yellow soft and the P Zero Red supersoft: a softer combination than that brought in last year's inaugural race, when medium and soft tires took to the track. In 2014, in the absence of real data since it was the circuit's debut in Formula 1, Pirelli had in fact made a more conservative choice. Today, with the information deriving from last year, we have opted for a combination that best suits the characteristics of the Russian track. A circuit which, with its medium-speed corners, smooth asphalt and mild climate, results in low degradation for the tyres.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli Motorsport Director: “We are happy to return to Russia for the second Grand Prix in the history of this country. Russia represents, in fact, a fundamental market not only for us but for the entire automotive sector. Last year, being a completely new circuit, we faced many unknowns. Today, with real data available, we were able to opt for a softer combination, which will allow us to get back into the 2/3 pit stop window: our goal for all races.
However, both we and the teams learn from the circuits time after time, despite the state of advancement of simulation technologies. The track has a great variety of corners, and this makes it a good test for the tyres, with riders able to exploit the competitive advantages offered by the speed of the supersofts."

The challenges for tyres
In general, newly laid asphalt can undergo changes over the first few years, especially in the presence of harsh winters. However, recent track surveys indicate that there has not been an excessive change in the characteristics of the Sochi asphalt from 2014 to 2015: the surface continues to be smooth and non-abrasive.
As the track is not widely used outside of F1, a high degree of asphalt evolution is expected over the course of the weekend.

The most critical corner in Sochi is turn 3: a long left-hander inspired by the famous turn 8 at Istanbul Park, which puts particular stress on the right front tire. In total there are 12 right-hand corners and six left-hand corners, with 650 meters of straight between the first and second corners.

The 5,848 kilometer track is the third longest of the year, after Spa and Silverstone; of these, approximately 1,7 kilometers are on public roads. The race will be over 53 laps. Ambient temperatures are expected between 15 and 20 degrees Celsius, which should limit the effects of thermal degradation.

The winning strategy of 2014

Lewis Hamilton won in 2014, starting on soft tires and then switching to medium on lap 30. But it was Nico Rosberg who was the protagonist of a truly remarkable strategy: the German switched from soft to medium on the first lap after flattening his tires during extreme braking at the first corner. Having fallen to 20th position, Rosberg finished the race in second place, completing 300 km on just one set of tires and setting his best time on the penultimate lap.

Expected performance difference between the two compounds: 0,8 – 1,0 seconds per lap.