Today, we must admit our mistakes. We always say this column is meant as a fun exercise, but we take our work seriously. Therefore, it’s only fair to acknowledge when we get things wrong. We still believe that understanding the behavior of the C3 tire, acting as the Medium here in China, will be challenging for both drivers and teams. However, we significantly underestimated the potential of the Hard C2 tire.
Pirelli had predicted that most drivers could complete the race with just one stop—and that is exactly what happened. After graining heavily affected the C3 Mediums during Friday practice and partially influenced the Sprint Race, we assumed that a double pit stop would be the minimum requirement today.
But we were wrong. All drivers who started on the Mediums pitted under the Safety Car, which was deployed on lap nine due to Stroll’s (Aston Martin) retirement, switched to the Hards, and managed to go all the way to the finish. Isack Hadjar, starting on Softs, made a strong start but fell to the back of the pack on the first lap after spinning out at Turn 13. Returning to the pits, he switched to Hard tires and then used the Safety Car to fit his second and final set of fresh C2 Hards—a wise decision that allowed him to climb from last place to P8.
A Formula 1 that sacrifices competitiveness: fear of traffic outweighs performance
Today, the fear of losing position outweighed the goal of performing well throughout the race. The C2 Hard allowed every driver who used it to finish the GP, but it wasn’t without challenges. Mercedes currently seems to be the only team capable of running this type of strategy without losing competitiveness. Antonelli and Russell were almost alone in improving their lap times in the final stages on tires that were over 40 laps old.
Ferrari struggled greatly with managing the Pirelli tires. As a result, Lewis Hamilton finished 25 seconds behind the leader and Leclerc 28 seconds back. Antonelli, moreover, suffered a lock-up in the final laps that cost him additional time, which would have widened the gap even further.
Considering there were 45 racing laps after the Safety Car period, Hamilton’s Ferrari was on average around half a second per lap slower than Antonelli. Most of this gap, however, formed in the last third of the race. Given that a pit stop in China costs around 24 seconds, an extra stop might not have significantly changed the overall gap between Ferrari and Mercedes. Yet, if done while the gaps were still relatively small, it could have applied more pressure on Antonelli and Russell.
The strange case of the C3 tire
The race clearly shows that no one wants to use the C3. The tire has behaved unusually compared to other compounds. Both in Melbourne and Shanghai, it suffered the most from graining, with drivers trying to complete as few laps as possible on it. Colapinto (Alpine) was the only driver to truly back the C3, building his way up to P10, even after contact with Ocon’s Haas. His choice later encouraged Hulkenberg (Audi) and Lindblad (VCARB) to use it, albeit for fewer laps. Colapinto completed the most laps on the C3: 23.
We find this situation quite unusual. The C3 was the most used tire during pre-season testing in Bahrain, and it will be the compound drivers and teams deal with most frequently throughout the season. Its color may change, but it will always be present (unless Pirelli decides to skip a compound). It should be the reference tire, yet few seem genuinely happy to use it.
Of course, we are only at the second race and still in the study phase. We await its performance in Japan, where it will appear in red as the Soft tire.
Pirelli satisfied with the C2 performance, Marrafuschi: “Tires reached the limit but maintained performance”
Dario Marrafuschi, Pirelli’s new motorsport director, commented after the China GP: “I want to congratulate Kimi Antonelli on his first Formula 1 win—a triumph that our flag hadn’t seen in 20 years. As we expected, the one-stop strategy proved the most effective. Teams did not change approach even with the Safety Car intervention on lap nine. Drivers starting on C3 Mediums pitted early.”
On the C2 Hard performance: “Some drivers’ final stints exceeded 45 laps. The tires reached the wear limit but still maintained a consistent performance. Antonelli set the fastest lap of the GP on lap 52 of 56.”
Marrafuschi continued: “Those who started on the white compound had the chance to stay out during the Safety Car and gain positions,” although this led to being overtaken by competitors on fresh tires. Alpine, Haas, and Racing Bulls leveraged both strategies by splitting approaches between their drivers. The Soft was also used at the start, with Red Bull drivers taking advantage of its grip to attempt an early escape. All three compounds, therefore, proved to be valid options for building effective race strategies.”
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