Pirelli expects two-stop strategies to be the norm at the Chinese GP, but they have not ruled out the possibility of some drivers opting for a one-stopper.
There was a frenzy of activity in the pits during last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix as most teams were forced to make three stops due to the high tyre degradation. This resulted in a new record for the most number of pitstops for a dry race.
The strategies are likely to return to normal at Shanghai with most drivers set to make two visits to the pits, but Pirelli's director of motorsport Paul Hembery says he wouldn't be surprised to see Sauber's Sergio Perez attempt to stop just once like he did in Australia.
"From what we've seen here the wear rates are much lower compared to Sepang," Hembery told Autosport.
"The hard tyre is probably about 20 laps on Friday, and the soft is 13. That even would suggest in the race that if you are doing 20 laps on a Friday then some people might even be thinking of doing a one-stop here - an aggressive one-stop strategy.
"They have to use the soft, and it depends how far they can take it. [Sergio] Perez I am sure is going to get me in trouble with Bernie [Ecclestone] again and do a one-stop or something crazy like that.
"Two stops is going to be the most likely strategy I've seen. The only question I have is that maybe the quicker teams can maybe afford to do a three-stop because of the performance advantage."
