Pirelli has reported that its tyres experienced "zero" wear during Thursday practice and is therefore confident that their softest compound, the ultrasoft, can complete an entire race distance without issue.
Of course the regulations don't allow that, with the rules stipulating that two compounds must be used if the race is dry. Therefore Pirelli motorsport boss Mario Isola says it's likely drivers could stop after just one lap to switch from the supersoft to the ultrasoft, or conversely, pit on the final lap of the race or wait until a Safety Car period, if they're starting on the ultrasoft.
"We had zero degradation, more or less," explained Isola. "Wear is not an issue, degradation is not an issue. Looking at the tyres today they were perfect, no blisters, no graining, nothing.
"I suppose everybody is looking at a long stint on the ultrasoft. We will see, because here the safety car chance is quite high," he added.
"Maybe somebody is starting on the supersoft, and if we have a safety car, it is possible to change, put an ultrasoft, and run all the race."
Isola expects the durability of the tyres to create a number of different strategies in the race.
"They have different strategic options basically because they can change when they want, depending on the race conditions. If the safety car is not at the beginning, we can also have a different situation."
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