The Sochi Autodrom located on the shores of Russia's Black Sea was a smooth and slippery affair when it hosted its first F1 race back in 2014.
Since however, the venue's asphalt has matured, but wear and degradation levers remain generally low although with the emphasis on traction and breaking around the 5.8 km circuit.
Pirelli's selection for this weekend will include its softest compound, the pink hypersoft, complemented by the ultrasoft and soft rubber.
"With another step between the compounds and the same nominations as Singapore, we hope to see the same sort of strategic variations that we had at the last race, but in a very different context at the Sochi circuit," explains Pirelli F1 boss Mario Isola.
"This is a low severity track, with a smooth surface featuring low wear and degradation, and it’s in theory the ideal playing field for the hypersoft.
"However, as this tyre has never been run in Russia before, the teams are going to have to understand its characteristics as quickly as possible during the free practice sessions in order to see how it would fit into a potential race strategy.
"It's going to be interesting to see how the Pink hypersoft will work on this track, especially through
the demanding Turn 3".
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