That's about my guess as well, only I may even go a hair quicker and say 1:20.5! Right!! If the tires are above OR below the operating range (which is now about a 30-40C range this year as opposed to a small 15-20C window last year) then they will fall off. Suspension geometry can help put heat in or take it out a minimal bit but not a massive amount. What we are seeing in these pics of the tires is graining, meaning the tire isn't hot enough and is simply falling apart.
Don't understand why you are being sarcastic considering you didn't even understand my statement. Did they say anything about if they're too hot? Didn't think so. I still stand by my statement that degradation would be much worse in very high temperatures than the moderate ones we're seeing. Why do you think they usually avoid breaking out the "super soft" and sometimes even "soft" tires in places like Malaysia? It's not rocket science...
I totally understood your statement, and wasn't being sarcastic. You're claiming to know more about this new generation of rubber than a handful of WDC's. I know which I'm going to believe. We have no idea what they're going to do in the heat. They haven't had a chance to run 'em that way yet. I'll accept "*could* be much worse". However, if as Fpiloto speculates they're designed for higher temperatures they could prove awesome. Indeed. But I stand by my statement that allowing 'em to get too cold and thence grain *could* be as bad as overheating & blistering. Seems the jockeys agree with me. Cheers, Ian
In warmer temps the tires will hopefully make it to operating range (if the car was designed correctly!) and will indeed last longer and yield more performance, but I am not counting on the tires lasting a whole lot longer than they are now even in proper temps. I think the primary game-changer with proper temps will be tire performance with degredation being secondary. Several teams had issues with heat either not fully getting into the tires last season OR not being heated evenly which of course creates balance problems because one part of the car is performing as it should whilst the other is out to pasture.
+1 I actually think getting the balance was the bigger issue than degradation per-se. One end was either getting too hot and/or the other too cold. IIRC, they were whining about this balance problem from pretty much day one. Now it seems all 4 are falling apart equally - Which may or may not be good of course. What's the expected temps in Aus next month? Hopefully right in the middle of the sweet spot and we'll see some quick times. Cheers, In
Why? I agree "7-10 stops" does seem a little excessive (!) but why would it be a joke? Same for all of 'em after all - Unless if history serves you're a Jenson or Sergio who are notoriously soft on tires. [Interestingly, both on the same team of course.....] For the geeks, Dennis Simanaitis of R&T did an article back in 2003 discussing the math behind 2,3 and 4 stop strategies - Back then fueling was of course the limiting factor, but it still makes interesting reading today; Modeling Formula 1 Pitstop Strategy - Road & Track For reasons I don't understand, this is only page 1. Google "dennis simanaitis pit stop strategy" and all 5 pages appear..... However, I firmly believe we'll see the usual 2-3, maybe 4 stops by the time they get South. They'll figure it out as always. Cheers, Ian
It would become a stupid circus. Sorry, I know you always think F1 can do no wrong, but you're nuts if you think 7-10 pit stops per race would be good for F1. They already drove half assed last year to preserve the tires rather than push, can you imagine how it would be if the teams had to make that many pit stops? Guys would just be toodling around hoping their tires would hang on. And in reality I think we'll see more like 4 but who knows.
Fully agreed. Balance will be more important than the tire deg issue for most teams. I fear there may be some teams with the W03 problem though, which will blindside them. As in: the car starts the season with great one lap pace but the tires completely catch them off gaurd and they fall apart and the car simply fails to act properly with them.
I beg to differ. You said; Implying the drivers were indeed nuts. Fred; That sounds like some pretty serious degradation to me! How they'll behave at the other end of the spectrum remains to be seen of course - Hopefully, they'll like being nice & toasty and last a little longer - ie, *less* degradation. We just don't know yet. Cheers, Ian PS - In all seriousness, I do think Checo (and me!) were being a little facetious with "7-10 stops" and I agree, 3-4 would be sufficient.
Right, but he never said..."we're having a lot of degradation in this cold, but thankfully we'll have less degradation when it's hot." Then my statement would be at odds with him. As it stands, we both don't know how they'll react to hot, humid weather and I gave you my opinion. Simple as that, which is hardly "acting like I know more about the tires than a WDC." I didn't know you could get such bad deg in cold weather. I just think it'll be worse when it's hot. AS I said before, there's a reason they they tend to keep from using the softer compounds in the hotter climates...
Possibly. We just don't know yet. But, with all respect, you seem to be missing the fact that a tire can be designed for high temperatures and therefore suffers terribly if it's too cold. Cheers, Ian
OK, thanks for that. Hopefully, that puts 'em right in their "sweet spot" and not only will they be fast but durable also...... "This is why we watch" Cheers, Ian
Somewhat off-topic but who normally sets up our fantasy leagues? C'mon! I want to place my picks now!
Ferrari's head of engine and electronics Luca Marmorini says the team will have a new exhaust layout at the final pre-season test but admitted some concern over introducing it to the car so late. Fernando Alonso's running on day two of the second test at Barcelona was reduced after some burnt bodywork had to be replaced when Ferrari ran an exhaust to the end of its life. Last year the team struggled to get the Coanda effect exhausts working on the car in pre-season testing, and Marmorini admitted that not having enough time to test a new solution before Melbourne carried some risk. "Failing an exhaust, especially on the primary part, can force you to stop the car so it's as critical as failing a piston or a gearbox," Marmorini said. "So we have a lot of concern about introducing an exhaust solution without the right amount of tests, but we have to push until the end. Until now we have a process to test on the dyno and in free practice some different exhausts, so we are trying to keep the same. But the more you push on this the more direct the impact can be. "So, for example, this morning we tried to test the exhaust until the end of its life because we definitely need to know where is the limit of the life of the exhaust so that we don't stop the car. But I think the engine people are a little bit uncomfortable with this. But we will be sure that in Melbourne we have solutions that have been tested enough." Marmorini also said that he had seen the Williams and Caterham exhaust solutions and that Ferrari would have a new design at the final test. "It is very interesting and we are working on a different solution as well. The advantage of the exhausts is not making the car much faster than another one; it is only contributing to the last few tenths. At the moment we are working on a solution different to them but we are also working on the dyno and in the wind tunnel a completely different solution. We will put on the car what we think is the best [solution]. "We do expect a similar advantage from working the exhaust last year, nothing more."
F1 Testing at Barcelona 2013 Day 2 - Mercedes Impress on Day 2 - YouTube! Ferrari F138 Alonso 2013 - YouTube 2013 Barcelona F1 Testing - Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes - YouTube Ferrari looks good, Merc looks better Watch how Lewis nails the throttle directly out of turn 1, then compare that to Fernando's mushy throttle application at the same turn. F138 is also a bit iffy out of I think that's turn 12 losing the rear end a bit. Lewis taking a much wider line at one of the turns as well......
4 stops would be bordering on ridiculous really - pit lane traffic levels, SC impacts. 7-10 stops would make F1 the laughing stock of motor racing - having cars on a dry day trying to finish a race on their 2nd or 3rd set of wet weather tyres.
Indeed. I do not think the tire issue or element of understanding about them, will be well sorted in Australia. Race 1 will be interesting and cannot arrive soon enough!!
