Early Safety Car could alter Singapore tyre choices, says Pirelli

Pirelli expects the Singapore Grand Prix to be a one-stop race under normal racing conditions, but an early Safety Car could change teams’ tyre choices. Motorsport chief Dario Marrafuschi expects soft and medium to be the preferred combination over Sunday’s 62 laps, with the pit window opening around lap 26.

A Safety Car in the opening laps could make the Hard a candidate for the second stint, Marrafuschi said. He also expects the Medium to remain an option for some teams, saying the expected tyre wear should allow them to use it. With Hard for the second stint, the pit window could open at lap 23.

Marina Bay has produced a Safety Car in four of the past six grands prix; the chance of a virtual Safety Car over the same period is 33%. Overtaking is difficult and track position valuable there, so an early neutralisation could offer a cheaper pit stop and prompt teams to reconsider their plans.

Marrafuschi estimates that a Medium-Hard one-stop would be five seconds slower than Soft-Medium, while a two-stop strategy would be ten seconds slower than the Medium-Hard one-stop over the race distance. Pirelli does not consider two stops an option in a standard race.