SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Even with hotter temperatures on Sunday, the Brazilian Grand Prix looks set to be a one-stop race. Tyre degradation was minimal during the team's long runs in Friday practice, and if anything is going to force a pit stop it will be the the physical wear of the rubber over the course of a stint.
The only slight concern from Friday practice was blistering when using the super-soft compound. The blistering occurred on the unloaded front left as it was dragged across the tarmac in Interlagos' long left handers, but the damage to the tyre itself was relatively superficial. However, if drivers are unable to manage the issue on Sunday it could reduce the life of the tyre as blistering can quickly result in a faster rate of wear.
If all goes to plan, expect to see drivers pitting between laps 26 and 32 if they start on the super-soft compound. Anything before or up to lap 22 may indicate a two-stop strategy, but only if a second set of super-softs are fitted.
The difference in performance between the super-soft and the soft when new is only 0.6s-0.7s, making it hard to manufacture an undercut or overcut strategy in the pit stops. Put simply, unless a team gets it very wrong, the overtaking is most likely to be conducted on the track.
Expect to see Lewis Hamilton start from the pit lane on the soft compound tyre in order to give himself as much flexibility as possible over when to pit, as well as the slightly faster compound towards the end of the race when he should be attacking faster cars on soft tyres in the top ten. Daniel Ricciardo is also set to start on the soft after using that compound in Q2 as he attempts to battle back from 14th on the grid.
Don't expect to see the medium tyre make an appearance on Sunday as its lack of performance means it is not a viable option at Interlagos.