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For 2018 Pirelli is extending its range of dry compounds from five to seven, and the hope, as Christian Horner has said, is that this will enable the company to pick the right range of tyres for each grand prix. This, he added, should provide exciting races, with at least two stops, and sometimes maybe three: "I think that going softer into the range can only create better racing and fewer one-stop races, which are the worst scenario."
Well, we'll see. Horner speaks of 'better racing', but while more stops may indeed lead to more order changes, that's not the same thing as cars passing each other on the track. It will be remembered that refuelling was reintroduced for no reason other than to disguise the lack of overtaking, but if that, happily, was done away with, tyre stops remain.
Having grown up in racing at a time when planned pitstops were not the norm, I've always been equivocal about them. They may provide entertainment for the TV audience, and for spectators who have sight of the pitlane, but for those watching elsewhere on the circuit they serve only to confuse.
