F1 Bahrain GP 2023 Tyres: Ferrari claim win, nightmare for Norris

The 2023 F1 season gets under way with the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday and tyres (as ever) will be a crucial element of race strategy.

With degradation expected to be significant at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, how teams counter that could cost valuable championship points.

Many seasoned F1 observers will already be across this area, but if you’re a newer fan (Drive to Survive maybe?) then this should be useful as you watch the race on TV.

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Bahrain Grand Prix 2023 Tyre & Pit Stop Stats

As expected the best strategy for the season opener in Sakhir was a two-stopper, with the entire field combining for a total of 48 stops.

The major exception was McLaren's Lando Norris, who was forced to pit FIVE times with a pneumatic issue.

📦 #BahrainGP Pit Stops

🔀 Different combinations of 🔴C1 and ⚪️C3 use shook up the midfield battle nicely!
😭 You can't help but feel for Lando #F1 #Fit4F1 pic.twitter.com/pPdfY6tIGI

— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) March 5, 2023

Who won the Fastest Pit Stop Award in Bahrain?

At last, a W for Ferrari as they managed to get the new tyres on Charles Leclerc's Ferrari in just 2.22 seconds. Stellar stop on an otherwise miserable day for the team from Maranello.

Which tyre compounds were in use at the Bahrain GP?

F1 tyre manufacturer Pirelli has produced six difference compounds for the 2023 season, from the C0 (the hardest) to the C5 (the softest).

There are three in play this weekend - the C1, the C2 and the C3.

You’ll notice that each compound is a different colour - again useful if you’re watching the race on TV. For the Bahrain GP the colours to look out for are these:

The C1 will be the white Hard tyre
The C2 will be the yellow Medium tyre
The C3 will be the red Soft tyre

There is an element of the unknown here with the C1 (the Hard tyre this weekend) being an entirely new tyre which has never been used in a race before.

Pirelli Motorsport Director Mario Isola said: "Our latest C1 will make its debut at Sakhir: an entirely new compound based on last year’s C2, which allows us to reduce the performance gap between the harder compounds in the range.

“We expect it to be a valid option for the race this weekend as well. The ‘undercut’ is often pivotal to the Bahrain Grand Prix, so it will be interesting to see how the teams make use of this new element in the trio of compounds that are nominated for Sakhir."

How many sets of tyres do each team get?

The teams get a specific allocation of tyres which they can use across the three days in Bahrain:

2 sets of Hard tyres
3 sets of Medium tyres
8 sets of Soft tyres

The teams will also get their usual allocation of Intermediate and full Wet tyres. These of course will only come into play if there is rain and you can check out the latest Bahrain GP weather forecast here.

What tyres do each team start the race on?

So this is why qualifying on Saturday is even more important - it also determines what tyre a team will start Sunday’s race on.

There are three parts of the qualifying session, and the bit which is relevant here is Q2 - the middle one.

Each of the 10 drivers who make it into Q3 must use the same compound they used to make it out of Q2 (so the one they used to set their fastest time).

Each of the 10 drivers who don’t make it into Q3 can choose which compound they start Sunday’s race on.

There are also a ton of other more detailed regulations about tyre use in F1 in 2023 and we’ve put together a detailed guide for you.

What sets of tyres did each driver have for the race?

Thanks to Pirelli we had all the data for you, and here is a full rundown on what sets were still available to each of the 20 drivers for Sunday in Bahrain:

These are the tyre sets remaining for each driver ahead of the #BahrainGP 🇧🇭

Leclerc skipped a second Q3 run to save a set of new 🔴 C3 softs for the race – will his strategy pay off? 🧐 #F1 #Fit4F1 pic.twitter.com/JHZ1WIHZi5

— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) March 5, 2023

What is the best pit stop strategy for the Bahrain GP?

No doubts here, a two-stop is the most effective strategy. The only questions are when to stop and what tyres to go onto.

Bahrain GP Pit Stops: What do the stats tell us?

They re-iterate the fact that degradation is sure to be an important factor come Sunday.

In 2022 every car, bar one, stopped three times. It had been expected most teams would employ a two-stop strategy but a late safety car saw almost all take the opportunity for another tyre change. Two stops again led the way in 2023.

There is an award each year (sponsored by DHL) for the fastest pit stop. Teams get points for how they perform at each race and there are full standings. Red Bull claimed top prize in 2022.

The fastest pit stop at the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2022 was 2.31 seconds by the McLaren tyre as they changed the rubber on Daniel Ricciardo’s car.

Why is the Bahrain GP so hard on tyres?

There are a couple of factors here - the track surface and the weather.

Bahrain International Circuit has some of the most abrasive asphalt on the F1 calendar, and that takes a massive toll on tyres. As do the many low to medium-speed corners - heavy braking.

On the weather front the issue is the wide range we get, and this is partly due to the starting time for qualifying and the race (1800 local time).

Track temperature can get as high as 45C during the day, but that can then drop by at least 15 degrees as we move into the evening.

What is the time delta between the various compounds

Again the boffins at Pirelli have the answers and numbers on this key question.

They estimate that the difference between the soft and hard tyre at either end of the spectrum will be around 1.4 seconds per lap.

Martin Brundle and ‘a new pair of boots’

F1 terminology may be pretty new for some of you, and here’s another to add to the Bahrain Grand Prix bingo on Sunday.

If you’re in most parts of the English-speaking part of the world you could get the Sky Sports F1 feed, with former Grand Prix driver Martin Brundle as expert analyst.

Brundle commonly refers to drivers and cars stopping for tyres as getting “a new pair of boots”. So now you know what he means.

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