Pirelli are unsure about how many stops will be required next season as they're set to introduce completely new tyres which will degrade less, therefore allowing drivers to push for longer.
At present, the Italian supplier aims for between two and three stops per race, but that is likely to change next season with Pirelli making them less sensitive to thermal degradation, which should, in theory, make the wider tyres last longer.
However Pirelli say it's too early in their development to know exactly how long they'll last, particularly as the cars are changing so significantly with wider and lower wings, a larger diffuser and an overall wider chassis.
"We’ll have a slightly different philosophy next year, according to our brief: which is to provide a tyre with less thermal sensitivity, meaning that the operating window will be wider, leading to less thermal degradation," Pirelli's Paul Hembery explained to Grand Prix Times.
"For now it’s still too early to go into specific details about the number of pit stops, so we’ll see later on [in the development]."
Whilst Pirelli is in constant communication with the teams about their development, a new rule for 2016, whereby drivers are allowed to pre-select their tyre compounds for each race, could create some problems for the opening races as most won't have tried the new tyres before the deadline to select their compounds for the first few races approaches.
Hembery is keen for the rule to remain as it has created different strategies, but says Pirelli may have to assign the same compounds to each driver for the opening races to avoid any problems.
"This innovation has added a lot of strategic interest and it’s been well received by all the teams and fans, so it’s something we will maintain for 2017," he added.
"[However] there are a number of conversations underway on this matter. We might decide to assign all the teams exactly the same compound allocations for the first races, as most teams will not even have tested them by the time they have to choose the sets.
"As is always the case, all decisions like that will be carried out in conjunction with the teams themselves and the FIA, so the solution will be one that everyone agrees to."
