Well that's what it looks like, as Pirelli announce a change in the tyre allocations for the Bahrain Grand Prix. However the move had been decided some time ago.
The Italian firm announced that the "option" tyre for this weekends race will be changed to the medium tyre, as apposed to the soft tyre which was previously allocated.
This is thanks to the high degradation seen in the opening three rounds of the season, coupled with the high temperatures and abrasive track service at the Bahrain International Circuit.
Teams and drivers have complained seemingly non-stop about the degradation of the new Pirelli's, but this change will be welcome for the upcoming race.
Pirelli has initially announced their tyre allocations for the first four rounds ahead of the season opener in Australia. A spokesman made clear, according to Sky Sports F1, that the decision to drop the soft compound for Bahrain was made previous to last weekends race in Shanghai.
Speaking in Pirelli's Bahrain Grand Prix Preview, Paul Hembery (Motorsport Director) said "It's one of the most demanding tracks of the year for the tyres, mostly because of the high ambient and track temperatures.
"We expect about three stops per car, although we'll have to wait to get some running in on Friday before we can look at the data and make a more accurate prediction. One of the main challenges of racing in Bahrain is that the track evolution is very hard to predict, depending on how much sand is blown onto the circuit.
He added "From what we saw last year though, there will be plenty of scope for different race strategies, which can even allow drivers who have not qualified as well as they hoped to recover during the Grand Prix.
Pirelli already announced earlier in the week that there will be a "free" set of tyres given to rookie drivers who replace race drivers in free practice one, in the hope of creating more running in the Friday sessions.
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| (c) Pirelli Media |
This is thanks to the high degradation seen in the opening three rounds of the season, coupled with the high temperatures and abrasive track service at the Bahrain International Circuit.
Teams and drivers have complained seemingly non-stop about the degradation of the new Pirelli's, but this change will be welcome for the upcoming race.
Pirelli has initially announced their tyre allocations for the first four rounds ahead of the season opener in Australia. A spokesman made clear, according to Sky Sports F1, that the decision to drop the soft compound for Bahrain was made previous to last weekends race in Shanghai.
Speaking in Pirelli's Bahrain Grand Prix Preview, Paul Hembery (Motorsport Director) said "It's one of the most demanding tracks of the year for the tyres, mostly because of the high ambient and track temperatures.
"We expect about three stops per car, although we'll have to wait to get some running in on Friday before we can look at the data and make a more accurate prediction. One of the main challenges of racing in Bahrain is that the track evolution is very hard to predict, depending on how much sand is blown onto the circuit.
He added "From what we saw last year though, there will be plenty of scope for different race strategies, which can even allow drivers who have not qualified as well as they hoped to recover during the Grand Prix.
Pirelli already announced earlier in the week that there will be a "free" set of tyres given to rookie drivers who replace race drivers in free practice one, in the hope of creating more running in the Friday sessions.
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