Pirelli turns to 2017 data for Bahrain Grand Prix tyre plan at Sepang

Pirelli faces an unusual Sepang challenge

Pirelli will use the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix as its primary reference point when preparing tyres for the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang. The race has been moved after Bahrain was unable to hold its original April date, or a later slot, because of the Iran war. An agreement between the FIA, Formula 1 and Malaysia has subsequently cleared the way for Sepang to host the event.

Pirelli Motorsport director Dario Marrafuschi said the 2017 race offered the most relevant comparison because it was the first Malaysian event run with wider tyres, making the balance between tyre size and the car package “reasonably close to what we have today”.

“If I remember well, the last race in Malaysia was in 2017,” Marrafuschi said. “Since 2011, when Pirelli replaced Bridgestone as F1’s sole manufacturer, we went there all the years, so we have a good history.”

2017 provides the tyre benchmark

Pirelli selected the medium, soft and supersoft compounds for the 2017 event. Those compounds correspond to C2, C3 and C4 within the current C1-to-C5 range. Marrafuschi indicated that Pirelli would follow a similar direction this time, prioritising the 2017 data rather than the choices made in 2014, 2015 or 2016.

There will be no opportunity for additional personnel to travel to Malaysia for further analysis. Because of the shortened preparation window, the tyres will also be air-freighted rather than transported by sea.

Marrafuschi said Pirelli builds flexible scenarios when the calendar changes, including the possibility of multiple production runs and using backup stock at a later race. The manufacturer requires seven weeks’ notice for a European event, a point that could become important if Imola were required as a replacement season finale.

Although December temperatures at Imola could fall between 0C and 8C, Marrafuschi compared the conditions with Barcelona testing. He described the situation as not ideal, but safe, stressing that Pirelli was not worried about running in those temperatures.