Pirelli have said they are ‘confident’ that tyre wear should not be an issue in tomorrow’s Turkish Grand Prix, expecting that most drivers will do a three-stop strategy come race day.
The Italian tyre company were today celebrating Sebastian Vettel breaking the lap record in Istanbul as he claimed pole position in qualifying. The lap-time of 1:25.049 was over a second faster than last year’s pole lap, and beats the record set in 2005 by Juan Pablo Montoya.
It was thought that the infamous turn-eight in Turkey would cause increased levels of tyre wear, particularly on the right-front, but Motorsport Director Paul Hembery does not anticipate any major problems.
“It's been a great qualifying session, and I'd like to congratulate not only Sebastian Vettel but also Mercedes for a fantastic performance,” said Hembery. “All the ingredients are there for an exciting race tomorrow, and the teams are already thinking about their tyre strategy.
“In terms of tyre wear here, the front-right tyre is the limiting factor, but we've already seen teams completing up to 20 laps here with this tyre, so we're confident that this shouldn't be an issue.
“We're expecting dry weather, which means that we should see about three pit stops, but different teams are likely to try different things: just one of the elements that has made Formula One so interesting this year.”
