Tire debate goes on

[Dare]

PlanetF1


The tyre debate goes round and round
Monday 13th May 2013 

The tyre debate goes round and round
Fernando Alonso admits it's "impossible" to follow a race, Jenson Button calls it a "right mess" while several other drivers are also not happy with the tyre situation.

Ferrari driver Alonso came from fifth on the grid to win the Spanish Grand Prix ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa on Sunday, but the big debate after the race centred around the Pirellis.

Raikkonen, Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and Button were the only three drivers in the top 10 to stop three times while the rest were forced to change their tyres four times.

The general conclusion in the aftermath of the race was that four pit stops are too many for Formula One and Alonso believes it is becoming difficult to know what's going on due to the number of stops.

"I'm happy to win from whatever position to start," the Spaniard said. "Here, I think this historically has been difficult to overtake and starting off the front row was hard for the race but now with this year's degradation and this year's tyres we see the races keep changing all the time.

"Whatever car keeps the tyre alive normally is on the podium at least - or winning the race. So, happy for this.

"If it's too much confusion for the spectators? There is no doubt. I think it is impossible to follow one race now. Here it's good because you have the tower and I think you follow the race on the tower with the numbers and you see who is first, who is second. But in some other circuits, if I'm sitting in the grandstand, without any information: radio, telephone or something, you only see cars passing."

Raikkonen initially thought he could battle Alonso for the victory late in the race, but he decided not to put up much of a fight when they were side-by-side due to the tyre issue.

"It is too easy to overtake, so no point to really fight again because you cannot hold him behind," the Finn said.

Button, who came from 14th on the grid to finish eighth thanks to his three-stop strategy, was quite critical about the current situation.

"It is a right mess. The problem is that a lot of people watching will think there's a lot of overtaking [so] it's great, isn't it?" he said. "But when we're going round doing laps three seconds slower than a GP2 car did in qualifying, and only six seconds quicker than a GP3 car did in the race, there's something wrong. This is the pinnacle of motor sport.

"We shouldn't be driving round as slow as we have to to look after the tyres. It's so complicated. It is very confusing. The whole time the engineer is on the radio saying: 'The temperatures are too high or too low, you've got to go quicker in this corner, you have to go slower in this corner, to look after this tyre.'

"When I see a car behind I let it past because I'm doing a different strategy and I don't want to damage my tyres. If I block I might destroy my tyres. It's the same thing we had in China, waving each other past so we don't destroy our rubber while hoping that the guy who's overtaking will."

[cosworth151]

Pirelli Formula One boss Paul Hembery says that the Italian company will probably revise its tires in time for the British GP at the end of June.

Pirelli had already changed the hard compound for the F1 Spanish Grand Prix. However, Hembery conceded that the four-stop strategies employed by most of the front runners in Barcelona -- including winner Fernando Alonso -- represented one stop too many.

“Strategy was again at the forefront of the Spanish Grand Prix, which as usual was very demanding on the tires because of the unique characteristics of this circuit,” he said.

“This is why we saw high levels of degradation, which should not be seen again to this extent for the rest of the year. Our aim is to have between two and three stops at every race, so it’s clear that four is too many. In fact, it’s only happened once before, in Turkey during our first year in the sport. We’ll be looking to make some changes, in time for Silverstone, to make sure that we maintain our target and solve any issues rapidly.”

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130512/f1/130519948#ixzz2TAxU6VO3

[Jericoke]

While I do enjoy the strategy of pit stops, trying to time the tires right etc. I see the point.

F1 could save a few $$$ and eliminate pitstops all together.  Fewer tires, fewer mechanics. 

[Scott]

Last thing I want is consistant tires.  No more engines blowing up, no more gearboxes frying, no more brake's burning up.  Tired of consistency, I want a bit of chaos, or at the least educated guessing for the teams.  In fact take the colours off the tires and just let the team rap 'em with a hammer and guess what they are putting on the car 

[lkjohnson1950]

The guys at NBC seemed to do a good job of keeping the race sorted for the viewers. I had no trouble tracking the leaders and pit stops. I think it was Steve Matchett who said Alonso did very little to preserve his tires, just ran fairly hard and changed when he needed to change. Massa ran a similar strategy, allowing for some alteration due to traffic issues. The only tire problem that concerned me was the one that disintegrated completely.

[markfarrell9572]

82 Pitstops is a bit much.  I also don't like drivers being told not to race.  However...  I really do prefer this to having a race won on a Saturday afternoon.  I consider myself something more than a casual fan, yet wouldn't pretend to understand all the nuances of race strategy.  I'm not confused by tyre strategies and why some cars are faster than others at certain points. 

[John S]

Yeah maybe 82 stops was a couple too many. 

However I find it unbelievable that spectators can't work out what's going on.  If the TV commentators make a half decent job of discussing the race that is running, and stop complaining - as Brundle invariably does - about the rosy days of yore being better, then viewers will easily follow the flow of the race. 

There is an old saying about winning in the slowest possible time you can manage. Too many times over the years we have seen F1 races that have been won by the end of the first few laps, barring mechanical breakdown of course. With modern reliability we don't even get that particular spanner in the works, so at least these fragile tyres mean the finishing order is not properly decided until the latter stages of the race.

I'm old enough to remember when drivers had to manage, or not in some cases, the fuel as well as tyre wear, (oh and manual gear changes as well). This created a stir when almost no one finished at Monaco in 82. 

To my mind the biggest problem at present is the driver/pit radio communications that are broadcast, without hearing these messages we would in the main be none the wiser about drivers running in save or conserve mode. We'd have to guess what was holding them back just like we used to in those rosy days of Yore.     

 

[Willy]

Every team has to use the same tires during a race. They have to use both compounds but are given leeway when to use them.
They all design their own cars and manage their own chosen drivers but tires are a given and partially unknown entity.

The degradation of tires will be different for each team depending upon the car design, downforce and drivers' tire management abilities.
This seems to me to be just another option of race strategy and how to use it.
Every team has the same tire issues to deal with and how they deal with them can make of break them. Lets not dumb down the sport further by changing tire compounds every race and to suit each team.

The current regulations and their applications have made it appear to be dumb enough as it is.

[Scott]

You're right of course Willy.  When has there ever been a season when one team or another didn't whine about one part of the regulations or another.

This the 3rd year Pirelli has supplied F1, and their tires were drastically different than the Michelin's before, and prone to drop off - I think 'cliff' was actually added to F1 tire jargon thanks to Pirelli.  If the teams haven't learned by the third season to take care in car design so they are easy on tires with enough compromise to make large adjustments in case they went the wrong way, tough for them.

[vintly]

It's a joke if weak tyres are stopping F1 drivers drive like F1 drivers. The sport needs overtaking, but half as much would be ok IMO. Harder tyres now!

[lkjohnson1950]

I really don't get why so many are on Pirelli. A few years back, the Canadian GP was wet and wide open because the tires (Bridgestone) kept falling apart. Everyone thought that was cool, so when Pirelli came on board they were asked to build tires that had a limited life. They have done so in spades, yet so many people are still unhappy. Last year they got more conservative at the end of the season and were accused of favoring Red Bull, now they've gone the other way and they are accused of having too much effect on the outcome. F1 Fanatic posted a graphic representation of lap times for the race and Alonso was nearly fastest the whole event. A new strategy, push the whole race and change as often as you need to. It worked because Ferrari has worked very hard to understand the tires and optimize the car. Any other team can do the same. Don't blame Pirelli for doing what they were asked to do.

[cosworth151]

Lotus & Kimi seem to thrive on the current tires. They designed their car and adapted their driving style to suit the tires they were given. Changing the rules midstream will take away their hard earned gains. Why should they be penalized because of other teams mistakes? Make the others go out and earn it.

[Ian]

Keep the tyres as they are, as has been said, Lotus and Ferrari seem to have understood them so why can't the others

[Monty]

Sorry I'm late (I have a note) - work keeps getting in the way of hobbies!

The race (it wasn't a 'race' but I have to describe it somehow) was a complete joke. I really cannot be swayed by any arguments regarding the tyre situation. Motor racing should be about the best engineered cars being driven, flat out, by the best drivers.
I am not blaming Pirelli, I know they are trying to meet the demands put upon them, but this situation has ruined F1. Basically all the spectators need to do now is watch the start then go to the bar until the cars are reaching the final few laps and come back to see who crawls across the line first.
I have always been against pit stops and have favoured engineered methods of assisting overtaking. I know that DRS is making overtaking artificial but it is still preferable to the laughable tyre situation (actually, I still think a solution offering a limited number of 'push to pass' opportunities would require skill & strategy and would be the best result for spectators but that is probably another debate).
I have been a F1 fanatic (obviously not the 'F1fanatic') for many years but I now honestly prefer British Touring Cars - close racing, lots of overtaking and a fair bit of bumping is tolerated.
I want to know that the guy in the lead is really in the lead; not just in front of the pack but on a strategy that really means he will effectively finish last! 

[Irisado]

I also don't blame Pirelli, as they're only doing what was asked of them.  The speed differential between this year, and last, has caught them out somewhat, but overall, they're just constructing the type of tyres that they were told to produce.

Four stops is too many though.  I think that having to stop either twice or three times should be the way to go with the tyres - i.e. some management is rewarded, but the drivers don't have to cruise around as much as they did in Spain.