FP1 & FP2 - Chinese GP report: Pirelli

Conditions were warm for Friday’s free practice sessions in the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai, peaking at a track temperature of nearly 37 degrees centigrade, in contrast to some of the cooler conditions seen in recent years.

Kimi Raikkonen set the fastest time of the day in FP2, while FP1 was interrupted by two rear tyre deflations for Williams and one for Renault. A swift investigation concluded that these deflations were not in any way related to the tyre itself, but instead caused by an entirely separate technical issue, which has now been rectified by the teams in question.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli motorsport director

“First of all, regarding the deflations in FP1, as acknowledged by the teams themselves, none of these issues were related to the tyre. In FP1 we had a very slippery and ‘green’ track, which caused some issues with traction and grip. As expected, more rubber was laid down on the track during FP2 and we experienced a considerable degree of track evolution.

This enabled the drivers to get the best out of the supersoft compound in particular, which we expect to be the tyre to qualify with tomorrow. Of course, this race is always a special one for us at Pirelli as for the first time we are the title sponsor of the grand prix, and we’d like to thank everyone for the warm welcome that we’ve received here, at a circuit that nearly always gives us some very interesting races.”