Lewis Hamilton Explains Pirelli Issues at Turkish GP Amidst Surface Changes

Formula One has returned to Istanbul for the Turkish Grand Prix again in 2021. The race was not originally on the calendar and is currently replacing Japan. But unlike last year, the track has a lot more grid. Although Lewis Hamilton acknowledged the grip on the track, but stated that there is a lot of graining on the tires as well.

Pirelli has brought on softer compounds of tires to counter the lack of grip last year. But this has meant that the tires are quickly graining on the track, which might trigger different strategies for the race.

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I can’t imagine a one-stop tactic: Lewis Hamilton

As reported by Speedweek.com, the 7-time world champion has a 10-place grid penalty in Turkey as he took a new component in the power unit. But despite that, he was the fastest man on the track on Friday.

Lewis stated he cannot see a one-stop if we have a dry race on Sunday. “The runway layout here puts the tires to the test. If we have a race on a dry track, I can’t imagine a one-stop tactic,” said Lewis.

Not only Hamilton but Pirelli head Mario Isola believes that the one-stop strategy could be tough in a dry race in Turkey.

READ MORE: Tire Scraping in F1: What Is It & Why Is It Done?

Driving with the soft tires would be a very aggressive strategy: Mario Isola

Mario Isola stated that driving on the softer compound of tires is very aggressive. He also mentioned that they were not informed of the cleaner runoffs at the track.

“Driving with the soft tires would be a very aggressive strategy. When we decided on the mixes for Turkey, nobody said that the runway here was cleaned in a special way. 

I guess most drivers will opt for the medium-hard and hard mix if they want to cross the finish line with just one stop. ” said Isola.

We did some graining on the medium tires as well. It would be interesting to see if the team would opt for a more aggressive one-stop or a two-stop race. We could expect some mixture of strategies as well.

Is a two-stop a safer bet on Sunday? Let us know.