4 pit-stops Expected in Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix

Can we expect to see a queue for fresh tyres?

5 May 2011

Pirelli have released comments about how they feel the tyres are performing in this current Formula 1 season,

amongst the general answers comes an interesting point highlight how they felt about the Turkish Grand Prix. There is expected to be up to four pit-stops for each driver with no surprises if some feel safe using only three. The choice in amount of pit-stops could be leaning more towards strategy than necessity, with the whole debate of how much better fresher tyres would be for overtaking. As we saw with Lewis Hamilton in the Chinese Grand Prix, who managed to get in three pit-stops, there might well be a strategy revolving around using more pit-stops to gain that tyre advantage. By sacrificing a few valuable seconds in the pits, Lewis managed to have the edge over race leader Sebastian Vettel to eventually take the win.

What can we expect to see then in Turkey?

After having witnessed what can be accomplished with one extra stop we might see that a few teams use the opportunity to avoid ruining their tyres on the abrasive circuit. The track will be covered with rubber because of the GP2 and the GP3 races taking place on the same weekend, it’s unclear whether or not this will be more helpful or not.