With quite a significant performance gap between the two compounds and a track that is still rapidly evolving, teams have the opportunity to use these speed differentials as a basis of their race strategies, which are sure to play an important part in the weekend. As always, to get the best out of the tyres the drivers will need to prioritise keeping them within their ideal operating temperature here. Last year the winning strategy consisted of two stops, but this year one pit stop might even be possible for some drivers from what we can see so far. Both Red Bull drivers have set a very rapid pace so far, but it’s the combination of speed and strategy that will win the race on Sunday and at this point we never know exactly how much fuel the teams are running. With the tyres coping with the demands of India very well, we would expect the race pace of the top drivers to be closely matched.