After the first and only practice session before the Chinese Grand Prix, we saw a completely unexpected and mixed order. While we expected Ferrari and Red Bull to be on top once again, it was Lance Stroll and Oscar Piastri taking the top 2 after FP1.
Red Bull not at the top! Ferrari P13 and P14! These results have left a lot of fans baffled. But the problem seems to be with the tyres the teams were running during the session. The problem seems to lie with the tyres. The drivers faced some inconsistent grip levels all over the track.
Why are the tyres struggling ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix?
Before the weekend, the track itself underwent some changes. The track management decided to add a layer of Bitumin treatment which was meant to protect the track from erosion. However, this caused the track to look like a fresh coat of pain.
“It looks like they’ve painted the track or something. They’ve done something to the surface,” said Carlos Sainz.
“I don’t know how the track’s going to change, or if it’s going to be the same or super slippery. But maybe that changes the way the tyres behave.”
During the entire FP1 session, the weather seemed very gloomy. This led to very low track temperatures during the session. As a result, the drivers were not able to get their tyres to the optimal temperature for racing. Hence, there was a lot of graining on the tyres. Due to these reasons, we saw a very mixed field during Fp1.
FP1 CLASSIFICATION
Stroll tops the only practice session of the weekend 👏
Next up 👉 #F1Sprint qualifying #F1 #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/dvUe0oCg0s
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 19, 2024
The drivers will be hoping for rain during the rest of the sessions as the intermediate and wet tyres require lower tyre temperatures to be optimal. While we could expect some rain for the Sprint Qualifying session and maybe tomorrow’s sessions as well, it does not look like it will rain during the main race on Sunday.
The teams and drivers will now have to come up with a way to work around this problem to unlock a bit more race pace. It will be a tricky one on Sunday. If the drivers go for the hard tyres, although they will have more life in them, it will be very hard for the drivers to get the tyres to temperature. But if you go on the soft, it could be easier to get them to temperature, but it could grain sooner than expected as well.
There is no doubt that the drivers will be facing a very challenging weekend going forward. Who is your favourite for the Sprint Pole Position?
Rohit Kumar 
Sara Chavan