Pirelli has confirmed the tire compounds that will be used during the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend, which will take place this time at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.
For this return to Formula 1 at Sepang after nine years of absence, the chosen compounds are C2 hard, C3 medium, and C4 soft. Each driver will have two sets of hard tires (marked in white), three sets of medium tires (yellow), and eight sets of soft tires (red), as well as green intermediate and blue wet tires if necessary.
An additional set of soft tires is reserved for drivers reaching Q3 in qualifying. All drivers must use at least two different types of slick tires during the race if the track is dry.
Pirelli highlights that Sepang causes medium tire wear, comparable to Spa-Francorchamps and Shanghai, with crucial thermal management. The tire choice is more aggressive than the usual hard trio to offer more strategies and reduce the gap between one-stop and two-stop strategies.
The circuit features an abrasive surface similar to Bahrain’s, with low grip at the start of the weekend expected to improve. Recent work has leveled and cleaned the track to enhance conditions.
Finally, teams will have to cope with a lack of recent data despite the circuit’s history.
