Claims that the Shanghai track has been resurfaced have proved to be a little wide of the mark, as the tarmac has merely been painted.
A number of teams had mentioned the resurfacing in their previews, claiming that while it may have resolved the issue of the number of bumps in the track it would add to the conundrum they faced heading into a Sprint weekend on a track they haven't used since 2019, three years before the new era of cars came into being.
However, when the FIA revealed the changes to the track since 2019 resurfacing wasn't mentioned, while Pirelli, which was not given advance access to the circuit admitted that it is having to rely on old data.
"Based on simulations and past data, the tyres are subjected to lateral and longitudinal forces here that fall into the medium category, with the outside of the tyre, especially on the left hand side of the car, wearing the most," said the Italian manufacturer in its preview.
"The trio of tyres chosen back in the winter is in the midrange, with the C2 as Hard, the C3 as Medium and the C4 as Soft. Nominally, that's the same selection as in 2019 but the scenario is very different. Five years ago, the 13 inch tyres were still in use, fitted to the previous generation of car, which had a flat floor and completely different aerodynamics to the current car.
"In fact," Pirelli admitted, "for the drivers, the teams and indeed for Pirelli, it's pretty much a matter of starting from scratch, given that the references are very vague."
Following today's track walks it became clear that as opposed to being resurfaced the asphalt has merely been given a lick of paint.
"It looks like they painted the track or they've done something to the surface," said Daniel Ricciardo, who won here in 2018, according to Speedcafe. "Apparently, they've just painted it or something, so I don't know how the track is going to change; if it's going to be the same or super slippery.
"Maybe that changes the way the tyres behave," he added, "so it could also open up some things for overtaking or strategies."
"It could be slippery in the wet, it could be very high grip, we can't really tell until we really try," added Esteban Ocon. "A long time ago, in our go-kart days, there was sort of paint put on tracks, and you used to put down rubber and keep rubber a lot in corners that had a lot of grip. I don't expect that to be the case, but it could do a lot of different things."
"It depends a lot on the type of paint they used," admitted Charles Leclerc. "That could cause different issues or have no issues at all. I hope it's the latter that will be the case.
"For now, it's very difficult to predict," he continued. "I have only seen pictures, I haven't gone around the track yet. I don't think it's the same everywhere, which might not be great.
"Before adding further comments, I think we just have to drive and see how it feels."
"A bitumen paint has been used as a coating to preserve the tarmac to ensure the stone remains in the asphalt," an FIA spokesperson subsequently told Speedcafe. "It is expected to increase the grip level and protect the tarmac from long-term degradation. The paint was applied last year."
Check out our Thursday gallery from Shanghai here.
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