Tyre Strategy in Bahrain

We head to Bahrain this weekend as part of a doubleheader in the Kingdom that will see the FIA Formula 2 Champion crowned.

So many questions to be answered over the next four races, but the first one that both the teams and drivers will want to know is, which is the winning strategy for the tyres.

Pirelli will have the tyre compounds Hard and Medium for this weekends event. Looking at last year this offers us something different to last year which saw the Soft in place of the Hard compound. Nicholas Latifi in the DAMS had the winning formula with 16 Laps on the Medium before a pit and 15 Laps on the Soft to bring home his car.

With testing having been done in Bahrain at the start of the year (Oh, what a different world it was back they hey!) the teams will have plenty of data to draw something from. However, it will be really important to note that temperatures will be quite different this time out.

Mario Isola, Pirelli Head of Racing said;

 “It’s great to have Formula 2 back in action for the final two rounds in Bahrain to decide the 2020 champion. While the outer track that is being used for the final event will be something completely new for everybody, the teams and drivers are mostly quite familiar with the regular grand prix layout. They tested there with the 18-inch tyres in March, so they will have some existing knowledge about how the tyres perform – although they have all learned a lot more since then, of course. For the final round, we have nominated the soft compound instead of the medium, alongside the hard tyre. It will be interesting to see the effect of this extra step between the compounds on a circuit that looks as though it will provide a very different challenge: even though it uses around half of the usual layout.” 

Stick with us here at insideF2.com to keep up to date with all the news and action.

Here are all the times you need to know this weekend. All times are local. GMT +3

Friday

• • Free Practice: 12:35
  • Qualifying: 16:15 – Qualifying Report will be live on insideF2’s dedicated Round 11 – Bahrain page.

Saturday

• • Feature Race: Lights Out 12:10
  • Feature Race: LIVE Lap by Lap. The live blogging session begins 15 Minutes before Lights Out.
  • Feature Race: Race Standings and Report within 1 Hour of the Chequered Flag via our dedicated Round 11 – Bahrain page.

Sunday

• • Sprint Race: Lights Out 13:00
  • Sprint Race: LIVE Lap by Lap – The live blogging session begins 15 Minutes before Lights Out.
  • Sprint Race: Race Standings and Report within 1 Hour of the Chequered Flag via our dedicated Round 11 – Bahrain page.

Monday

• • The Debrief will be published with all the action and reaction to the weekend’s action! We would love to get your opinions.

Let us know your thoughts @F2inside on Twitter and join our ever growing community of Formula 2 fans!

* Image Credit: Formula Motorsport Limited