Pirelli locks in C2-C3-C4 for F1's Sepang comeback
Official tyre supplier Pirelli has confirmed it will bring the hard C2, medium C3 and soft C4 compounds to the Bahrain Grand Prix, relocated to Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit for October 2-4. It marks F1's first visit to Sepang in nine years, since 2017, and with the weekend starting this Thursday, the compound choice is a direct variable shaping strategy for this weekend's race.
Why C2 to C4
Pirelli Motorsport Director Dario Marrafuschi said '2017 was the first year with wider tyres, reasonably close to what we have today,' explaining that the choice was based on that year's Sepang data. The 2017 Malaysian GP used medium, soft and supersoft tyres, corresponding roughly to today's C2-C4 range. The C2-C4 spread is intended to narrow the performance gap between one-stop and two-stop strategies, giving teams room to try different approaches.
An unusually tight preparation window
The Sepang date was set after the originally scheduled Bahrain race was relocated due to regional security concerns, leaving Pirelli just 10 weeks to prepare. That ruled out sending staff for an on-site inspection, and tyres had to be air-freighted rather than shipped by sea. Marrafuschi said, 'We are always flexible... we may decide to have multiple productions, and then maybe use that as a backup,' leaving open the possibility of adjusting compounds for later races once real running data comes in.
What makes Sepang distinct
Sepang features fast corners and heavy braking zones, combined with Malaysia's hot, humid climate and an abrasive track surface. The asphalt has not been resurfaced since 2017, a factor that supported picking mid-range compounds. With tyre wear and thermal load both in play, teams head into the weekend largely unable to predict how nine years of surface change will affect performance.