McLaren Managed Rosberg’s Tyres Perfectly!
According to Pirelli, Rosberg managed his allocation of Pirelli’s P Zero White medium tyre, and the P Zero Yellow soft tyre perfectly. McLaren chose a different strategy to most of their rival teams, sticking to the soft tyre during the drivers’ second stint. Many of the other drivers chose to change their tyres to the medium compound after their first pit stop.
Of course, tyre strategies varied massively between all the teams, but McLaren was singled out by Pirelli’s motorsport director for their “perfect understanding of how to get the most out of both compounds”. The drivers experienced a high degree of tyre degradation due to the tough conditions in Shanghai. In particular, the front-left tyre suffered more stress than the others.
Rosberg is now a serious contender having clinched pole position by only half a second, while his team mate Schumacher retired early, despite having started from second position on the grid.