Jenson Button expects much higher tyre wear in Malaysia, putting it down to the tracks rougher surface, compared to that of Albert Park in Melbourne.
Despite Pirelli bringing the same compounds to Sepang, the soft and hard’s, Button is certain drivers will need to pit more for fresh tyres or conserve their sets for much longer.
“Sepang will be much hotter, with much higher track temperatures, maybe as much as 45 degrees centigrade, and the track surface is very abrasive, particularly in comparison to Albert Park, which is very smooth,” said the McLaren driver.
“Sepang really requires a lot of high-speed stability from the tyre. So all of these factors will make the tyre situation a bit trickier – I think we’ll see higher degradation and more pit stops.
“It’s a highly abrasive track, so the fronts and rears will suffer. In terms of overall wear and durability across all the tracks we visit this year, Sepang probably sits somewhere in the middle.”
Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery is of the same view, predicting three or even four pitstops during the race.
“We said all along that we would be seeing two to three pit stops in Australia, but in Malaysia I think that figure is likely to increase to three to four,” he added.
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