Pirelli announces softer tyres for Russia

Pirelli has revealed its compound choices for the next three races in Singapore, Japan, and Russia, with Formula One’s official tyre supplier going one step softer for Sochi.

Like last year, the Italian brand will bring yellow-banded softs and red-walled supersofts to Marina Bay, as these are “perfectly suited to the street circuit characteristics” of the track.

One week later, Pirelli will go to the other end of its tyre range by providing teams with white-marked mediums and orange-lined hards, which were last used in early July at Silverstone. In order “to cater for the high-energy demands and fast corners of Suzuka”, the Milan-based company has elected to nominate the same compounds it selected for Japan 12 months ago.

The only change thus comes from Pirelli’s tyre choice for the second Russian Grand Prix. While F1 cars raced on softs and mediums during the inaugural event, these will be shod with softs and supersofts at Sochi Autodrom next month.

Pirelli explains that “the asphalt has not changed significantly since its debut, and looking at the data from 2014, a softer step is possible.” Last year’s event saw Nico Rosberg flat-spot his soft tyres at the start before completing a 52-lap stint on mediums to recover to second by the chequered flag.

Pirelli's low tyre degradation in Russia was further highlighted when the German clocked the fastest time of the race on the penultimate lap.

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