Alexander Albon expects tomorrow’s sprint race in Shanghai will be dominated by tyre management.
The Williams driver will start the race from ninth on the grid, one place outside the points. However he says drivers will have to take it easy to keep their tyres in good shape for the 19-lap race.
“The tyres are not that easy to know what to do with,” Albon told the official F1 channel after sprint race qualifying. “The tyres, we’ve seen it this year so far, are very sensitive.
“Long corners like they are in China tend to make the tyres work a bit harder and it’s hard to get them into a good place. We’ll do some work overnight and try and get back stronger tomorrow.”
The Shanghai International Circuit has been completely resurfaced since F1 raced on it last year. Pirelli has brought its C2, C3 and C4 compounds – its second-hardest selection – and specified minimum starting pressures of 26.5psi at the front and 23psi at the rear.
During the single hour of practice before qualifying, several drivers complained they were struggling to make the front tyres last, especially the front-left tyre which is put under severe strain by the long, right-hand turns one and two. Albon expects that will force drivers to take it easy in tomorrow’s 19-lap sprint race.
“I think graining’s going to be a big talking point,” he said. “The fronts especially, which is what’s been hard in low-fuel as well, but in high-fuel it gets out of control.
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“So I think it’s going to be a very managed race, unfortunately. It might look a bit boring in the first few laps and then you’ll see a bit of a race towards the end.”
This article will be updated.
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