ESPN looks at the potential strategy options for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
The new smoother track surface at Sepang has reduced tyre degradation compared to previous years, meaning strategy is likely to be less varied on Sunday than it was 12 months ago. The medium compound tyre appears to have been all but ruled out of most teams' strategies as the soft is the fastest tyre and only the hard has been nominated as the mandatory compound that must be used at some point in the race.
As a result, most strategies are likely to involve maximising time on the soft tyres and limiting time on the slower hards. Pirelli has recommended no more than 17 laps on the softs, but Sebastian Vettel, Esteban Gutierrez and Pascal Wehrlein all pushed the compound as far as 20 laps during FP2 on Friday.
Keeping in mind Pirelli's recommendation of no more than 17 laps on the softs, the following strategies have been suggested:
QUICKEST
Three-stopper: 3 stints on soft (14 laps - 16 laps) + 1 stint on hard of 10 laps
SECOND-QUICKEST
Two-stopper: 2 stints on soft (14-16 laps) + 1 stint on hard of 26 laps
SLOWEST
Two-stopper: 1 stint on soft (14 laps) + 1 stint on medium of 23 laps + 1 stint on hard of 19 laps
Below is a list of the tyres the drivers have left after qualifying. Daniel Ricciardo's new set of soft tyres could come into play, while the fresh sets of mediums (a lower working range tyre) held by the Mercedes drivers are only likely to be used if track temperatures drop due cloud cover.
Here are the compounds each driver has available for the #MalaysianGP pic.twitter.com/vNOuV1begR
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) October 1, 2016