Pirelli selects C2, C3 and C4 tyres for F1’s Sepang return
Following the dramatic race in Azerbaijan, Formula 1’s teams and drivers head to Sepang International Circuit for the rescheduled Bahrain Grand Prix, with Pirelli confirming a relatively aggressive tyre selection for the Malaysian venue’s return to the calendar after nine years away.
C2, C3 and C4 open strategic options
Pirelli will bring the C2 hard, C3 medium and C4 soft. Each driver receives two sets of hard tyres, three sets of mediums and eight sets of softs, alongside green intermediates and blue full wets if conditions require them. An additional set of softs is reserved for drivers who reach Q3. In a dry race, competitors must use at least two different slick compounds.
The choice is softer than the more conservative, harder trio Pirelli could have selected. The supplier says the aim is to give teams a broader strategic range and reduce the time gap between one-stop and two-stop approaches. That makes tyre behaviour and stint performance central questions for the weekend. Pirelli’s Barcelona tyre-degradation preview offers another look at how compound selection can shape strategic choices.
Pirelli describes Sepang as a medium-energy circuit for the tyres, with severity comparable to Spa-Francorchamps and Shanghai. Its abrasive surface is broadly as rough as Bahrain’s, but the circuit retains its own characteristics. Temperatures are expected to be a key consideration, with thermal degradation identified as a major variable and thermal management across both axles among the teams’ principal challenges.
Track evolution and limited references
Grip is expected to be low on Friday, then improve as the surface evolves through the weekend. Pirelli says resurfacing between Turns 6 and 12, including work around Turn 9, was carried out in 2023. Further levelling and cleaning work took place from the beginning of September to address asphalt irregularities and improve track conditions. Despite that work, Pirelli engineers’ recent assessment found the surface’s overall characteristics very similar to those recorded in 2017.
The teams will also arrive with little relevant data for the current generation of cars. As a result, Friday practice will carry added importance: drivers must learn a circuit many have experienced only in the simulator, while teams work to establish car balance and understand tyre behaviour.
With the softer selection designed to bring one-stop and two-stop strategies closer together, the opening practice sessions could prove especially valuable in identifying how quickly the C2, C3 and C4 degrade in Sepang’s conditions.
Simone Scanu
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.