F1 News: Pirelli Concerned About Chinese GP Track After 5-Year Break As It Skips Initial Inspection

Saajan Jogia | Apr 6, 2024

Oct 19, 2018; Austin, TX, USA; A view of the Pirelli logo and wet track during practice for the / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Formula 1 tire supplier Pirelli is apprehensive about the tarmac condition at the Shanghai International Circuit as the sport returns to China after a five-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The concern arises from Pirelli's inability to conduct a track inspection to evaluate tire options for the Grand Prix, which poses a challenge as the event approaches in two weeks.

Key Takeaways:

• Pirelli expresses concern over tarmac conditions at Shanghai International Circuit as Formula 1 returns to China after five years due to COVID-19, hindering track inspection for tire options.
• Uncertainty surrounds tire selection due to potential track alterations and lack of pre-assessment by Pirelli engineers, compounded by the switch to 18-inch tires since the last race in 2019.
• Shanghai hosts the first sprint weekend of 2024, with FP1 followed immediately by qualifying for Saturday's sprint event, adding complexity for drivers and teams navigating the unfamiliar circuit's potential undulations and ground-effect car dynamics.

It is quite obvious that the track surface may have changed during the intervening years. Surprisingly, Pirelli has been unable to deploy engineers for a pre-assessment, a standard protocol for either new venues or those not utilized for some time. Since the last Chinese Grand Prix in 2019, the tire size has also changed to 18 inches due to a change in the regulations, which adds more to the uncertainty.

Pirelli is viewing the track as a new venue since it is unsure of the current status. Shanghai also sets the stage for the inaugural sprint weekend of 2024, featuring FP1 on Friday, followed by immediate qualification for Saturday's sprint event. This rapid succession of sessions adds an extra layer of complexity for drivers and teams as they familiarize themselves with the circuit once again.

Oct 23, 2015; Austin, TX, USA; A general view of the Pirelli wet tires before practice for the / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Adding to the apprehension is the unused circuit's foundation on swampland, hinting at the possibility of subtle undulations that may have developed over time. These imperceptible bumps could pose unexpected challenges, especially when the ground-effect F1 cars zip through the track.

When Pirelli Formula 1 chief engineer Simone Berra was asked about the return of Formula 1 to China, he told Motorsport.com:

"It's like a new circuit, honestly.

“Because we have new cars, new tyres, the 18-inch [rims].

“The track was really not used in five years, it was just used for one race per year or something like that. So, it will be really green and quite dirty, although obviously, they will clean the track.

“And we need to understand even from tarmac measurement pre-event how it has changed.

“In the past, it was quite rough in terms of both micro and macro roughness. We need to understand how ageing has gone in the last years.

“It's a good challenge for us, it's interesting. The other thing is that after five years, it's even a sprint race, with just free practice.

“So not much data, and even for the teams it will be a big challenge, not just for us, but for the teams even more probably."

When asked if graining would be a problem, he said:

"In the past we had not severe graining, but we had light graining. So yes, could be a possibility.

“I expect some graining, especially on C3 and C4, for the C2 I expect more resilience compared to the C3 and C4, so we should be covered. Let's say that in that case a high wear rate in case of graining.”

However, Berra is confident with the tires that have been selected for the Chinese Grand Prix, regardless of the tarmac condition, despite being unable to send an engineer to the venue. He added:

“Unfortunately, I don't have any person available to do it [inspection].

“So we'll do that directly on Wednesday.

“Anyway, it doesn't change too much, because the selection is already made. We made let's say a middle range selection, so C2, C3, C4, which covers us from any possibility. C5 was really too soft, and C1 probably too conservative, considering the track.”

Oct 19, 2018; Austin, TX, USA; A view of the Pirelli logo and wet track during practice for the / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports