Oscar Piastri starts the Chinese Grand Prix from first place after taking pole. However, a six-way battle for the win is well and truly on the cards in what could be a very competitive race. But hat strategy will drivers and teams use to try and taker them to P1? Find out down below.
Formula 1’s official tyre supplier has instructed teams to increase the minimum pressure of their tyres in response to the track conditions in Shanghai.
The track has been resurfaced since last year’s race and is considerably smoother, leading to an increase in cornering speeds. Lewis Hamilton set a new course record when he took pole position for the sprint race, lapping in 1’30.849.
Pirelli already increased its minimum starting tyre pressures for this weekend by 1psi at the rear and 0.5psi at the front, to 23psi and 26.5psi respectively. Following today’s running it has increased both again, to 24psi and 27.5psi respectively.
Its chief engineer Simone Berra said the smoother, less abrasive new surface was generating “really surprising” grip levels. “Rarely have we witnessed such a significant improvement in times – with the same car technical regulations – as we did today.”
“Given that the track is still evolving, it’s possible times will drop even more tomorrow,” he said. “Furthermore, we must bear in mind that the lack of bumps meant the teams were able to lower the ride height of the cars, thus gaining even more performance.”
Some drivers have warned the graining they experienced means they will have to manage their tyres carefully in tomorrow’s sprint race.
Berra confirmed Pirelli “saw significant graining on the front left tyre, leading to degradation in terms of performance, but without it having much impact on wear.”
| Become a RaceFans supporter and
He said the sprint race will give teams a useful opportunity to perform a long run to judge their strategies for the grand prix.
“The degradation on the medium and soft seems quite high, between two and three tenths, which is one reason why all teams decided to keep both sets of hards, almost certainly for Sunday afternoon,” he said.
“Tomorrow’s sprint [race] will be a great opportunity for everyone to do a real long run, thus providing a clearer picture in terms of race strategy, even if the fuel load will not be as much as the one needed to start the grand prix. On paper, the most likely choice for the short race is the medium. Last year, Russell did reasonably well on the soft, but it’s hard to see anyone attempting to do the same tomorrow.”
>> Find out more and sign up
Get a daily email with all our latest stories – and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
Browse all 2025 Chinese Grand Prix articles
The Shanghai International Circuit got a new asphalt for the 2025 Formula One weekend, and even the competition’s tyre manufacturer were surprised with the results achieved in Sprint Qualifying, Pirelli report.
On Wednesday afternoon, Italian tyre manufacturer Pirelli announced that they have selected the tyre compounds for the Bahrain, Saudi Arabian and Japanese Grands Prix. The tyres for the first five Grands Prix of the new Formula 1 season have now been revealed, and in terms of what can be used by teams and drivers, there are no changes in the first four races compared to the 2024 season. However, for the fifth race of the season, teams and drivers will be able to use softer tyres in Saudi Arabia.
George Russell is concerned Formula 1 tyre performance will deteriorate when the series switches to narrower rubber next year.
However Charles Leclerc had a positive first impression of the new prototypes from F1’s official tyre supplier Pirelli.
F1 made its tyres significantly wider in 2017 in order to improve the car’s cornering performance. They grew from 245mm wide at the front and 325mm at the rear to 305mm and 405mm respectively. Those will be trimmed to 280mm and 375mm respectively next year.
Russell said a loss of performance is an inevitable consequence of the move to narrower tyres. “A number of drivers have driven the 2026 tyres, which are going to be narrower tyres to try and help reduce the drag,” he said. “That was a bit of a challenge compared to the wide tyres we have today.
“It was quite a step worse with the tyres, naturally, because they’re just much more narrow. Hopefully they will be improved over the coming months.”
Pirelli is testing its prototype rubber using ‘mule’ cars which have been adapted to simulate the lower downforce levels next year’s cars are expected to generate. Leclerc, who has also tested the new rubber, was encouraged by his run on the narrower tyres.
“Obviously whenever you’re testing smaller tyres, you expect a big difference,” he said. “But on my side, they were good. It didn’t feel like a big difference so I was positively surprised.”
| Become a RaceFans supporter and
Carlos Sainz Jnr and Ryo Hirakawa conducted further tests with the narrower tyres in Bahrain today, driving mule cars supplied by Williams and Alpine respectively. Pirelli’s director of motorsport, Mario Isola, said they had completed almost 2,700 kilometres of testing so far.
“We continued with a comparison of different types of construction and compound, the latter at the hardest end of the range, to suit the characteristics of this track,” he said. “Now, our colleagues in R&D will analyse the information carefully and provide useful indications so that we can continue to improve the product for the next generation of cars.”
Get a daily email with all our latest stories – and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
Browse all Formula 1 articles
After F1’s three-day pre-season test in Bahrain, Alpine and Williams remained at the track to take part in a Pirelli test to help the Italian tyre manfacturer develop the compounds that are set to be used in 2026. Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Director of Motorsport, has since reacted to the extra two days of on-track activity in Bahrain.
The winter test in Bahrain is set to begin the day after Red Bull Racing’s shakedown. Over the course of the three-day test, teams will test various Pirelli tyre compounds, including the new soft compound, C6. This will give drivers the chance to evaluate the performance of the new tyres under different conditions as they prepare for the upcoming season.
After being at the Circuito de Jerez for three days of testing, Pirelli has successfully completed the tyre test. Last week, testing also took place In Barcelona at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, but this time, the session took place further south in Spain. According to Pirelli president Mario Isola, the test was very valuable to Pirelli. Now Pirelli will shift their focus onto developing the tyres for 2026.
Another tyre test for Pirelli was run on Wednesday. Again, like last week, it took place in Spain. Only this time it was not driven at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, but at the Circuito Angel Nieto in Jerez. Alpine and McLaren were the teams in action during the tyre test.
In today’s Formula 1 news, Ferrari announced their reserve driver line-up, McLaren teases the “sound of their car” for the 2025 season and the last day of Pirelli tyre testing in Barcelona is held, with Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri suiting up to drive!
