Trick filled Teams lol - : Image Unavailable, Please Login https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/the-f1-tyre-tricks-that-the-new-clampdown-will-stamp-out/6574262/ The F1 tyre tricks that the new clampdown will stamp out By: Jonathan Noble Jun 16, 2021, 6:51 AM Pirelli’s carefully worded statement on Baku’s Formula 1 tyre failures may not have explicitly blamed teams, but the strength of the FIA’s response tells us all we need to know. Image Unavailable, Please Login For while Pirelli only went as far as talking about generic ‘running conditions’ triggering the blowouts for Red Bull and Aston Martin, the swift move from the FIA to impose a raft of new measures is a clear indication of the areas it suspects teams could be operating in. In the lengthy updated FIA Technical Directive that was issued to teams on Tuesday, in response to what happened in Baku, it is obvious that tyre pressures are at the centre of this most recent storm. Sure there are no suggestions Red Bull nor Aston Martin had been doing anything illegal, but the manner of what is changing from this weekend’s French Grand Prix offers us clues about what may have been going on. Red Bull may have been correct in stating that it has followed the rules and Pirelli’s guidance to the letter, but part of the problem is way that the current situation those parameters are judged left some grey areas. With the only requirement being for a limit on tyre temperatures in the blankets, and starting pressures when tyres are still fitted, that still left room for teams to do things once those checks had taken place. If a team could drop pressures below the recommendation by the time the car left the pits, and then managed to find a way of them not rising too much out on track as the tyres warmed up, it could fully comply with the rules and yet not be at a pressure level where Pirelli would normally expect them to be. So in looking at what the FIA is bringing in for the French GP, and new limits for teams, we can perhaps get some clues about what tricks may have been used for performance gains. And irrespective of what teams may or may not be doing, the new cold pressure checks on tyres after they have been removed from cars should clampdown on anyone trying to get around the system by running lower than Pirelli intended. Here then we look at four theories on what teams could have been doing that will no longer be allowed. Image Unavailable, Please Login Pirelli tyres allocated to Red Bull are sorted into blankets in the paddock Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images Removing the blankets early The most obvious way for teams to play around with tyre pressures is with temperature – for if the air in the tyre is heated up, then it will expand to increase the pressure to pass the pre-running checks. Then, if it is left to cool, the air will contract and the tyre pressure drop down to a level that is better for car performance. Many years ago, the FIA moved to stop teams doing this through dramatically heating up their tyres, which is why there is now a limit on how hot the tyres can be heated in the blankets. However, that has not stopped some teams still trying to take things to the limit in terms of heating the tyres – and then cooling them as much as they can prior to the cars running. One way to do this would be to remove tyre blankets from cars in the garage well before they intend to go out on track. This is something that Lewis Hamilton highlighted in Monaco when he told Sky F1 that Red Bull had done this in Spain. “If you look at the last race (in Spain), for example, we were supposed to all keep our (tyre) blankets on in qualifying,” he said. “Red Bull were allowed to take theirs off, and no-one else is allowed to. So I think we just need to make sure it’s consistent for everyone.” From the French GP, such activity will no longer be permitted with teams told that the removal of blankets prior to the cars getting ready to leave the garage will be interpreted as them trying to cool tyres. The FIA TD states: “The removal of any blankets when the tyres are not yet fitted on the car, their untimely removal with the tyres fitted on the car, or delaying the release of a car from the garage for no valid reason with the tyre blankets removed will be considered as a way to cool the tyres. “Teams will need to justify a valid reason for any delayed release of over 30 seconds, or frequent delayed release.” Image Unavailable, Please Login Tyre valve Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images Using leeway While teams have always had to use tyre pressure gauges calibrated by Pirelli and sealed by the FIA, that in theory has not stopped them making use of any leeway in the readings to push the tyre pressure margins. Small variances can creep in to the system when checks are made, and previously teams knew that if there was any ‘small discrepancy’ with a set of tyres they would be allowed to inflate them – so there was nothing to lose by pushing the limits. Now though the FIA is getting tougher and will not allow any additional tolerances that result in the tyres being outside the prescriptions. “It is the teams' responsibility to add any additional margin to operate tyres within the prescription limits,” it said. Now any team found to be outside the limits will still be asked to inflate the tyres more, but cases of large and/or systematic discrepancies will be reported to the stewards. Image Unavailable, Please Login A Haas team member at work, in a corridor of tyres stacked in heated blankets Photo by: Andrew Hone / Motorsport Images Overheating the blankets The teams’ abilities to use temperatures to control the pressures means that tyre blankets are an obvious way of managing the situation. The FIA TD also restricts teams using the blankets for too long – or playing innocent over a blanket control reading that gives a lower temperature than the tyre is at. From France, teams will no longer be allowed to heat the tyres for a lengthy period of time. They can now only be heated when they are intended to be used in the following session. Furthermore, teams will not be allowed to keep their tyre blankets running overnight and above temperature, so that when tyres are fitted in the morning they are already roasting away better than teams who have just switched theirs on. The FIA says tyre blankets must now be physically disconnected except for a period allowed by Pirelli. Further, they must ‘make sure temperature displays of all control boxes in use are switched on and easily visible.” Image Unavailable, Please Login A Pirelli technician takes some data readings Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images Using special gases Another way for tyre pressure to be changed is through the use of special gases or their moisture content as they are inflated. This could potentially change the way that temperature affects the expansion of the air inside the tyre. Now, such behaviour will no longer be allowed. The FIA noted said that: “Any modification to the inflation gas composition or moisture content aimed at reducing on-circuit pressures is not permitted. “This includes increasing as well as reducing inflation gas moisture content, and the addition of any solid, liquid or gas not permitted for this use in the Technical Regulations.” The FIA also reminded teams that they must follow Article 12.5.1 of the technical regulations at all times which states that: “any modification or treatment such as cutting, grooving, the application of solvents or softeners is prohibited.”
You know there is a crap load of data monitoring on F1 cars, Why not just put tire pressure monitors on the wheels and telemetry it back to FIA ??
Why not do away with the blankets. Require all tire pressures to be set at cold tire conditions at 7 am each day. Period. None of this playing around techno crap.
I know of a company that manufactures a small device that is mounted to a machined hole in a wheel and a magnet is attached to the outside of a brake rotor. This device (weighting less than an oz) can pump air into a tire to replace air that leaked out (over months) so the owner no longer has to check tire pressures. If the free market can do this, F1 designers can make wheels so the car can pump the tires down during the race, and pump them back up for testing.............completely obviating any rules FIA may mandate...........
Whilst certainly easily implemented if there weren't many rules around the wheels...the reality is that these days very little can be done with the wheels that allow implementation of such a device. As far as I know, due to playing with the wheel hubs a few years ago, blown wheelhubs as a means to inflate the tyres I can't see happening either.
FrenchGP 2021 F1 faces "serious problem" over tyre failures, says Aston Martin Aston Martin boss Otmar Szafnauer says Formula 1 faces a ‘real and serious’ problem if tyres are failing despite teams following Pirelli’s protocols. Image Unavailable, Please Login The Silverstone-based outfit suffered a high-speed tyre blow out with Lance Stroll at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with a Pirelli investigation concluding that it was caused by the running conditions of the rubber. The suggestion is that Aston Martin’s car, plus the Red Bull which also suffered a blow out with Max Verstappen, was running with tyre pressures that were not as high as had been expected. However, with Aston Martin clear that it followed the rules at all times and was above the minimum pressure laid out by Pirelli, Szafnauer says the situation is something that must be looked at to ensure there is no repeat. “It's a real and serious problem that we've got to get on top of,” he said. “I think we're lucky to only break the car and not anything else. So, we've got to make sure it doesn't happen again. “We will follow the new prescriptions. We have always been within the parameters that both the FIA and Pirelli set for us.” Asked if he was surprised that Pirelli had concluded that the trigger for the accident was that the pressures were not what was expected, Szafnauer said: “I'm surprised that that was the conclusion. “We followed all the prescriptions to the letter, and we were never ever under the minimum pressure. So, we had stabilised pressures, they were higher [than advised]. That's normal. That's usually what happens. “The pressures on the grid that were checked, were above the minimum. So yeah, I don't know what their expectations were. But I would imagine their expectations are that the pressure comes up. But that's exactly what happened with us.” Szafnauer’s concerns over safety come with Formula 1 drivers’ body the GPDA having written to the FIA, F1 and Pirelli to seek assurances about safety. For while the debate about who should be responsible for what happened in Baku remains unresolved, the GPDA is clear that the safety of drivers must never be compromised in the quest for improved performance. A statement from the GPDA said: “The GPDA is in constant communication with FIA, F1 and also Pirelli, and whenever an incident and/or accident happens we communicate with them and other relevant parties. Consequently after Baku we communicated with all stakeholders about the two accidents we witnessed.” Although GPDA chairman Alex Wurz declined to elaborate on the contents of the letter, he was clear that the focus on safety was key. “For the GPDA it remains a high-speed accident and therefore we request the involved stakeholders to apply the highest attention for short and long term improvements,” he said. https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-faces-serious-problem-over-tyre-failures-says-aston-martin/6582624/
FrenchGP 2021 Image Unavailable, Please Login Driver briefing with extra length Pirelli boss cross-examined In the Le Castellet driver briefing, Pirelli sports director Mario Isola had to answer the pilots' questions. Baku's punctures have damaged confidence in the Italian product. Sebastian Vettel in particular had a need to speak. We have the details from the meeting. Every Friday after the second practice session, the Formula 1 drivers have a fixed appointment. The FIA race director invites the entire field to a drivers briefing once every Grand Prix weekend. Most of the time, the session ends after just a few minutes. In Le Castellet, the event lasted more than an hour and a half. There was a lot of need to talk. The topic of tires has been discussed for the longest time. Mario Isola had actually invited the pilots for an interview on Thursday. In the paddock, there is no complete agreement as to whether the pilots canceled the appointment out of listlessness or whether the appointment the day before was simply a little too short-term. "The simplest solution was to go to the driver briefing," explained Pirelli's race director. So Isola simply came to the virtual meeting on Friday evening, which has still been held by video call in Spielberg since the start of the 2020 season due to the corona rules. The engineer personally gave the pilots an explanation as to why Lance Stroll and Max Verstappen's tires had burst in Baku. Image Unavailable, Please Login Hamilton asks about penalty for Red Bull The Italian then had to put up with a few more questions from the field. Sebastian Vettel in particular is said to have made it clear once again that he is not entirely satisfied with the quality of the product delivered. The drivers traditionally want tires with which, in the best case scenario, they can push the entire race. Isola defended itself with the argument that the teams place new demands on the tire supplier every year. In the so-called "Target Letter", more or less wear and tear is requested in order to vary the number of pit stops and to make life easier or more difficult for the pilots. We were told that the atmosphere in the conversation was constructive. Of course, Isola also explained his theory that the tires in Baku had burst because the air pressure values of the teams concerned were below their own calculations. Lewis Hamilton then asked FIA chief technology officer Nikolas Tombazis why there were no penalties. The referee's answer was short and sweet: You couldn't prove any wrongdoing. Max Verstappen also got involved and assured his World Cup opponent that his team had adhered to all the requirements. Masi admits safety car mistakes Image Unavailable, Please Login The subject of "yellow flags" was only touched on briefly. FIA race director Michael Masi had already announced in Baku that, in his opinion, all the pilots had raced past the scene of the accident in Verstappen too quickly, although there was a double yellow wave. Because the race was canceled a short time later anyway, none of the racers could gain an advantage. Masi reminded the drivers at Le Castellet that they should be more careful next time in comparable situations. Then the Australian admitted a mistake of his own. Masi apologized to the drivers for neutralizing the race too late on the home straight after the Verstappen crash. It was almost a minute and a half before he pressed the safety car button. Next time Bernd Mayländer should be sent to the train faster. https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/formel-1/fahrer-briefing-gp-frankreich-2021-pirelli-isola-vettel/&prev=search&pto=aue
Ban tire warmers as Tost see's this as the most pressing issue for tires and pressure the teams use - https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/86829/tost-thinks-he-knows-where-the-tyre-problems-come-from-should-be-banned.html
Now Pirelli wants the teams to test a rear tire.......hmmmm. I wonder spurred this new test??? Pirelli: Next Friday, each driver will have two sets of these new tyres available for use during either free practice session. If the test is successful, the new rear specification will be introduced from the British Grand Prix onwards, replacing the current specification. Image Unavailable, Please Login
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/the-science-involved-in-f1s-tyre-durability-struggles/6646407/ The science involved in F1's tyre durability struggles By: GP Racing Aug 13, 2021, 12:05 PM It’s fashionable among teams to knock the products offered by Formula 1’s sole tyre supplier, especially after the failures earlier in the season. But, as PAT SYMONDS explains, there are a number of unscientific myths behind these complaints against Pirelli The high-speed accidents experienced by Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix once again raised the subject of tyre durability. The somewhat obscure nature of the press release issued by Pirelli after its analysis of the failed tyres led to some rather ill-informed comments in various publications, so it’s worthwhile trying to understand both the nature of the failures and why the case was effectively closed as ‘unproven’. To fully comprehend the problem, we need to understand a few different facts about tyres and basic mechanical engineering. First and foremost is to know how a tyre is constructed and how it carries load. Of course, a tyre contains a lot of rubber and other polymers but the real load-carrying capacity of a tyre is governed by the materials used to reinforce the rubber. These materials and how they are arranged are known as the ‘construction’ of the tyre. The particular mix of the rubber is known as the ‘compound’. Here we can lay one of the first myths to bed. When, in a racing tyre, we refer to the compound we are actually referring to the tread compound. This is varied from circuit to circuit and between the hard, medium and soft compounds that we have all become familiar with. In current Pirelli speak, they are termed C1 to C5 – with C5 being the softest compound. What is generally not appreciated is that these various tread compounds are wrapped onto the tread portion of a tyre, the main part of which is built from the same compound of rubber irrespective of what is used for the tread. The notion, therefore, (and often written) that a soft compound is more prone to failure than a hard compound is incorrect. The tread compound of the tyre plays a very small part in the load capacity of the tyre. Image Unavailable, Please Login Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing retiring after a tyre faliure Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images Examining the construction in more detail, the rubber is reinforced in the sidewall, shoulder and belt areas with a number of different materials. These can be nylon, steel or – more usually in a racing tyre – an aramid fibre known as Kevlar. Kevlar is a very strong, lightweight fibre used extensively in crash structures, military and aerospace applications, and even bullet-proof vests. The next thing we need to understand is how materials behave when they are subjected to load. I’m sure everyone knows that if you apply a load to a material it stretches as the load increases and then, when it reaches what is known as its ultimate tensile strength, it breaks. What is less commonly known is that if you repeatedly stress something at a lower load it can also break. This is known as fatigue failure, and different materials behave in different ways. With steel for example, providing you keep the load to a low level of around 50% of the ultimate tensile strength, it will survive any number of cycles. Aluminium is different in that if it is subjected to a cyclic load, it will eventually fail almost irrespective of the magnitude of that load. In both cases the behaviour is non-linear. In other words, while a high load will only be survived for a few cycles and a low load for many cycles, you can’t simply say that a load half way between will lead to a failure in half the time – it will in fact be much less. Significant also is the tread depth, as a worn tyre has a lower critical speed due to the lower geometric section properties of the tread decreasing the effective belt stiffness Kevlar is generally used in applications where its strength is the more important property. In a tyre the fatigue properties can be just as important. The material, when subjected to cyclic load, behaves slightly differently to either steel or aluminium in that, like aluminium, it has a finite fatigue life but the life is also a function of exactly how the fibre interacts with its neighbours in a multi-stranded rope or tow. Most important of all the aspects of tyre durability is the loading condition. Every time a tyre rotates the construction is exercised as it enters and leaves contact with the ground in a process known as de-radialisation. The tyre flattens in the contact patch area, leading to complex loading in the sidewalls and shoulder of the tyre. The tyre designer, knowing the vertical load on the tyre and the speed the car will experience, designs his tyre to cope with this at a given inflation pressure. Image Unavailable, Please Login Damaged tyre on the car of Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images If the tyre operates outside the expected parameters, for example at a lower pressure, a phenomenon known as standing waves can occur. These are resonant deformations of the sidewall causing extreme loads in the tyre carcass. The knowledge of these is nothing new: an article in Motor Sport magazine in September 1958 mentions the difficulty of avoiding this destructive condition. What is essential to understand about standing waves is that for a given construction there is a critical speed at which they occur. Below that speed the tyre behaves normally and above that speed huge deformations are seen in the sidewall and shoulder which appear stationary but are in fact moving rapidly. The critical speed is a function of load, camber angle and, most importantly, inflation pressure. An increased inflation pressure effectively increases the stiffness of the belt, which is the dominant parameter in avoiding standing waves. While the exact values for a Pirelli F1 tyre are not known, typically a 1 psi increase in pressure will raise the critical speed by around 3 to 5km/h on a wide racing tyre. Significant also is the tread depth, as a worn tyre has a lower critical speed due to the lower geometric section properties of the tread decreasing the effective belt stiffness. Understanding how critical tyre pressures are leads one to ask why the running pressures are not mandated, rather than the starting pressure. With the advent of 18” wheels next year, calibrated tyre pressure monitoring becomes mandatory which should put paid to problems of relating cold and running tyre pressures, something which should be easy but, due to imperfections such as moisture in the tyre, can actually be extremely difficult. Image Unavailable, Please Login Robert Kubica, Alfa Romeo Racing C41 Photo by: Pirelli
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/how-a-new-pirelli-approach-should-silence-f1s-biggest-tyre-gripe/6655446/ How a new Pirelli approach should silence F1's biggest tyre gripe By: Adam Cooper Aug 28, 2021, 8:25 AM Pirelli is on track to deliver new 18-inch Formula 1 tyres for 2022. Will the new compounds address one of the current tyres' biggest issues and allow drivers to push hard? That’s certainly the hope after the Italian company recently signed off on the specification of its new rubber, pending official homologation by the FIA. The switch from the current 13-inch size to 18 inches would be a major challenge for a tyre supplier in any circumstances, but it comes in parallel with a huge change in the specification of the cars, which will in turn impact how the tyres are used. On top of that Pirelli has to follow requirements of the target letter provided by the FIA. And a key element of that is addressing the perennial problem of surface overheating, the issue that often prevents drivers from pushing hard throughout a race stint, especially when running in traffic. If successful, as Pirelli believes, the reduced overheating will be a major contribution to improving the show in 2022, along with an aero package that allows cars to follow each other closely. Pirelli began its extensive test programme with mule cars adapted for the new tyre size back in 2019, when the switch to 18-inches was scheduled for this season. The subsequent one-year postponement gave Pirelli a bit more time for R&D, although the pandemic meant that there was little actual on-track running in 2020. This year Pirelli scheduled 22 car days of running with dry tyres, which concluded when Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren ran in Budapest just after the Hungarian GP. There were also three two-day wet sessions, with one more wet test to run with Alpine at Magny-Cours in September. The 2022 construction was finalised some time ago, and recent slick tests have focused on refining the compounds. The definitive versions will next be tested in December, again on mule cars, in the week after the Abu Dhabi GP. “The Hungary test was good, it was confirming our findings on the new product,” says Pirelli boss Mario Isola. “It was the final test for the softer compounds of the range. 1 September is the deadline to homologate the construction. But construction-wise, we were already happy before Hungary, and we are going to confirm the construction that was the latest baseline that we used during the test. “For the compounds we have finalised the analysis, including Hungary. And the plan is to present our results to the FIA, FOM and the teams, and also to compare our results with the target letter to see if the delta lap time, the degradation and other parameters are in line with the target letter. “But the preliminary numbers I would say are are quite good. And also the feedback from the drivers was quite good.” Pirelli has a clear path when developing any new tyre – fix the construction first, and then hone the compounds. The change in sidewall will increase the overall cornering stiffness of the car, meaning that although steering should be more direct as the tyre flexes less, there will be a marked reduction in overall slip. The construction was a big issue this time around, with the smaller, stiffer sidewalls requiring a "different profile and construction", as Isola explains. “We had to understand which was the right direction. When we started with our tyre development tests [in 2019], we had very different solutions and very different ideas. “We tested with three different teams, and then in February 2020, with Ferrari, and more or less, everybody was giving us a feedback in a quite precise direction. “So it was good to have all the teams, despite using mule cars that were different, giving us an indication that a certain type of profile and construction was in the right direction. “So then we continued to develop this profile and construction. But obviously the next steps were smaller compared to the first one.” With the construction signed off, optimising the compounds was the next challenge, especially as one of the goals was to address surface overheating. Pirelli soon realised that to solve the problem it would in effect have to start afresh. “We basically had two choices,” says Isola. “To take the current compounds, and try to develop them further in order to achieve the targets. Or to start with a completely different approach, different ingredients and a different way to produce the compounds in order to have a much wider working range, to have a lot less overheating and so on. “We realised that with modified compounds from the current ones, it was not possible to make a step as big as was expected. So we decided to jump into the unknown! I'm joking, but we decided to do something that is new, and to start to develop a complete new family of compounds.” Image Unavailable, Please Login Lando Norris testing the 18-inch tyres, late 2019 Photo by: Pirelli That was a major decision and to streamline that process the initial focus was on one benchmark, the medium C3 in the middle of the range. Once the parameters for that compound had been established, Pirelli’s engineers could explore softer and harder options. “We focused at the beginning on the C3, it was the first compound that was in a sort of final shape,” says Isola. “The C3 is also the compound that we use at all events basically, it is in the centre of the five. So it is the most used. From the C3 we moved on the hard side, for C2/C1, and on the soft side for C4/C5. “I believe it was a good approach, and a successful one. As I said, the feedback from drivers was positive, in line with the expectation.” A crucial part of all the track testing was encouraging teams to tell their drivers to push throughout a stint in order to help Pirelli to address the surface overheating issue. The drivers were happy to oblige, and the results appear to have been positive. “During the tests we asked the drivers on short runs and long runs to push every lap, because we wanted to simulate a situation where they don't have to manage the tyre. They don't have to look after the tyre, to nurse the tyre. “We always asked them with full tanks or in any condition to push, push, push, to verify the real degradation of the tyre, and also which is the type of degradation. If it is a thermal degradation it's good, because we need to have some thermal degradation, otherwise all the compounds are the same. “We wanted to be sure that they don't suffer with surface overheating. It is difficult to assess this when you run with only one or two cars, because we needed to test them in traffic. “But to do that, we need also to have the final version of the cars with a modified aero package, otherwise it's impossible. We have to wait until the pre-season test next year.” Although officially Pirelli has until 1 December to nominate the chosen compounds to the FIA, the process will happen a lot sooner, mainly because it has to ready the new tyres for the Abu Dhabi mule car test in the middle of that month. “We will produce the tyres, I believe quite soon, in probably a couple of weeks or so,” says Isola. “Because then we need to ship the tyres to Abu Dhabi, and logistics in the current period is not the easiest activity. “The compounds that we want to nominate are clear. We already had internal meetings to discuss that, we have just to present our conclusions to the FIA and FOM, and be sure that they agree with our approach. “And then we start the production so the teams have the possibility in Abu Dhabi to test the final homologated version of next year's product.” That’s an important test, but as Isola says, the real picture will only emerge when the tyres are run in February/March on the cars for which they have been designed. For the sake of the show, we can only hope that Pirelli has got its sums right.
Pirelli plans stronger F1 front tyre for 2023 to dial out understeer Pirelli plans to introduce a stronger front tyre next year to reduce the understeer that a number of Formula 1 drivers, including Max Verstappen, don’t like with the current cars.
Why not let other manufacturers compete with Pirelli in Formula 1? It seems that tire management is one of the primary issues determining race wins. Why not make it no required tire changes and any manufacturer the team chooses?
A tire war is the most direct way to lower lap times and increase the speed. FIA doesn't want that for safety reasons. That aside, when we had two tire manufacturers last time, it didn't go so well for the US GP...
During the last "tyre war", there was enormous disparity of service between the top teams and the "lesser" teams of each suppliers. The suppliers' "prefered teams" received tyres of different construction and compound than the rest of the field. The tyre companies also agreed among themselves to share the market, and several teams didn't in fact have a choice. I think that may have been the reason why the FIA stepped in and decided to have only one company supplying the same tyres to all the teams.
At the very least allow (as you say) no tyre changes and let drivers choose any tyre they like. Want a 3 stopper all super soft race? go ahead. Think you can do a no stop on super hards? We're not going to stop you.
The problem with this is that F1 tires have a service lifetime measured in weeks, and when Pirelli makes a set of tires for one race, and some are not used, they take them back and shred them. By the time the next race is on--those tires will be past their due-date. But, I see the problem as Pirelli choosing which tires to bring. Why not let the teams choose (say 8 weeks* in advance) and let this chips fall where they may. {Only after each team ahs made their individual team choices is the list made public.} (*) 8 weeks gives Pirelli enough time and is long enough to prevent trying to predict the weather.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/the-chemicals-emotions-and-designs-that-explain-f1s-rain-problem/10384337/ The chemicals, emotions and designs that explain F1’s rain problem Formula 1’s rain delays in Singapore and Japan have served to restart the debate about whether or not the series has a wet weather problem. By:Jonathan Noble,NobleF1 Oct 14, 2022, 10:10 AM Image Unavailable, Please Login There seems little doubt that some of F1’s previous great wet weather drives – think Ayrton Senna at Portugal in 1985, Michael Schumacher at Barcelona in 1996 and Damon Hill at Suzuka in 1994 – would not have happened these days because the races would never have been allowed to start. This has led to inevitable criticisms that F1 these days is too risk adverse. With car safety standards being so high, plenty of people argue that surely the best drivers in the world should be allowed to get out there and sort things out for themselves. FEATURE: Ranking F1's best wet-weather drives But while certainly the threshold for what is an acceptable level of risk has changed with time, there are other crucial factors that make life much harder for F1’s 2022 cars in the rain. Autosport caught up with Grand Prix Directors’ Association (GPDA) chairman Alex Wurz for his insight into the matter. And he cites several issues at play – some of which can be changed and some that are here to stay. Image Unavailable, Please Login The Safety Car Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75, the rest of the field for the restart Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images Health and safety While there are physical factors – such as car and tyre designs – that have their role in dictating wet weather running, one critical element is the level at which the FIA deems running to be safe. Safety advances have been hugely welcome in F1, and it would make no sense to spend so much effort in making cars safe to then have a completely lackadaisical attitude to letting drivers out in the worst of the rain. As Wurz, who was caught up in the famous 1998 Belgian Grand Prix opening lap pile-up, said: “The entire world is moving into a more safety-first attitude. PLUS: How to relieve F1's extreme wet-weather caution “On one hand you can say this is bad, and this shouldn't be the sport. But I think the sport has been absolutely sensational in improving the safety without jeopardising performance generally. “But we can't hide from laws, liabilities, difficult jurisdictions and difficult cases, which is continuously influencing sport and society. So it is a contributing factor.” Changes in society also have their role in making rain delays a big deal too; for he thinks that decades ago fans would have thought nothing of waiting for a few hours. Nowadays attitudes are different. “In those days, we have all been way more patient,” he said. “Our life is moving into a very short attention span and I want things at my convenience, so not being patient. “Perhaps we all remember 30 minutes delay in the old days wasn't as irritating as it is now to some fans. It is a fact.” Image Unavailable, Please Login Pirelli wet weather tyres Photo by: Lionel Ng / Motorsport Images Chemicals and grooves in tyres One of the key deciding elements in whether or not cars can run in the rain is tyres. If the available rubber can offer good grip without the risk of aquaplaning then that leaves the door open for events to run. However, the culmination of a few factors have made things more knife-edge right now. PLUS: Why wet weather isn't F1's true leveller As Wurz explains: “Tyre manufacturers are not allowed any more to use the same chemicals, softeners, and very special oils, which made the tyres very unique in the period of tyre war development in the 1990s and 2000s. “It's a single make tyre as well. So if you want to increase the grip, which I'm sure Pirelli can do, there is a cost factor too. “The tyres are wider too, which may be more important than the previous factors. That means it's easier for them to have aquaplaning or reduction in contact patch because of the water displacing. Plus if they have bigger wider grooves, then the ridges fall apart.” Pirelli proudly states that its wet tyres get rid of 85 litres of water per second at 300km/h. As Pirelli’s head of F1 and car racing Mario Isola explained in Japan: “With a full wet, you spray in the air three times the water of the intermediate.” But one of the conundrums with rain tyres is that the better job they do in dispersing rain water, then the more spray gets thrown up into the air – so making visibility worse. The answer is not then simply designing a tyre to be even more effective in cutting through the water. Plus, Pirelli also has to take into account the fact that there has to be a crossover period between running the extreme wet, and the intermediate, so they cannot be too far apart. If track conditions provided too dry for the wet to work, but too damp for the intermediate, it would be a recipe for disaster. Isola said: “We have tools to modify the tyre. The problem is visibility. “We had a monsoon tyre in the past but it was a decision to have this kind of product with a broader crossover between the wet, the intermediate and the slick. “We could also modify the tread pattern, but I'm not sure it is the right direction because, with loss of visibility, they are not running in any case. Then the risk is that you don't have a crossover with the intermediate, and that is even worse.” Image Unavailable, Please Login Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT03 Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool Ground effect cars When looking back at the way races even a decade or so ago were able to take place in terrible conditions, it must not be forgotten that downforce levels have changed considerably. And, for 2022, one critical factor that is playing its part in the wet is the switch to ground effect cars. The underfloor venturi tunnels, and the design taken by F1 chiefs to minimise airflow disruption for cars behind by not having it near pursuing cars, means in the wet the spray is thrown more violently upwards – hampering visibility even more. As Wurz says: “The downforce now is ever increasing. It's also a wider car, so there's more surface to suck up, and more water thrown up - a bit more than 10%.” Image Unavailable, Please Login Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18, battles with Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75, for the lead at the start Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images Drivers’ attitudes While some fans may choose to criticise drivers for the fact races do not take place in poor conditions, Wurz is clear that the attitudes from those in the cockpit are unchanged from years gone by. If it is safe enough, he says, then they are more than happy to get out there. “The drivers, we are permanently saying that driving in the wet is fun, even with aquaplaning. Driving when you're by yourself, it's super challenging and it’s amazing. “But the moment you don't see anything, you are exposed to such an ultra amount of risk that just the slightest issue can lead to a fatality. “And this is when you must applaud the race director to put safety first above all this public, commercial and risk pressure. Can we do it better? Yes. “We want to support the sport here as much as we can, to maybe find ways to improve the situation. But also help educate the fans and stakeholders of the enormous challenge and courage you need to go out in the wet when you see nothing. Actually nothing.” This is why, while factors like tyre and car design are not things that can be resolved immediately, there are some ideas, like the ‘information laps’ being discussed with the GPDA, that could mark a small step in solving some of the problems F1 faces when the heavens open.
Homer Simpson would say:: "Well Duh !" Venturi cars are a good part of the Spray issue:: in the 1980s in the first generation of venturi cars, the venturis would create clouds following the cars. The new cars are doing the same. {And then there is the issue of the <full> wets being too "full".} Apparently nobody is looking at the atrocities occurring un Ukraine......with their death to invaders strategy..... If the races started at NOON (12:00 with the sun high in the sky) there is a much bigger window in which the race can be run. Struggling to hold my Homer in check........... Why the frick not ??? Cars are also heavier--a lot heavier--and the tires are not as more wide as the cars are heavier. But they are already too far apart. Witness Japan 2022 !!!!! So, in effect, the tyre guru is giving up !?! Homer is always right "Duh" So we now have cars that can follow (but still not pass) and no rain racing--whereas before we had cars that could not pass and rain racing. I vote we go back to the way it was before......... Which Karen is on the FIA board ?? Colour me doubtful.
Duh how much real testing is going on - whether with Pirelli F1 car or with real team cars. Things improve with testing - then data and assess and adjust and test and repeat. I know, I know, cost cap, money yada yada yada lol
