Tires are a crucial part of planning for all F1 teams before every race weekend. Tires are the only point of contact through which all the performance is laid on the track. Even a top team can end up at the back of the grid if the tires aren’t optimized.
The modern generation of F1 cars demands a lot of performance from the tires and as a result, the tires are made from special compounds and chemicals that are tested in a lab. With so many variables included in the making of a tire, getting the tire optimization right is a challenge in itself.
During a race weekend, an F1 team generally faces four issues with the tires that need to be optimized. Tire wear, degradation, graining, and blistering — all four of these situations are caused by different variables.
The F1 drivers are going to be spoiled for choice with our tyre compounds here in Bahrain for the pre-season testing! 5 slick compounds: what’s going to be picked? Here’s a chart to help you spot them #Fit4F1 #Fit4Podium @Pirelli @F1 pic.twitter.com/onJrk7omBN
— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) February 20, 2024
Tire wear is the regular wear and tear of a tire caused by friction. As an F1 car goes around the track, some amount of rubber is deposited on the track. As the tire loses the rubber, the grip starts going away from the driver.
Tire degradation is when the tires chemically degrade because of the heat cycles they’re put through. An F1 tire has many chemicals mixed with rubber compounds to give it certain characteristics. But when a tire is passed through multiple heat cycles, the chemical properties change affecting how a tire behaves.
Tire graining happens when a tire doesn’t grip the track and slides around. It generally happens when the tires are colder than the optimal working window and it causes the surface to rip apart.
Tire blistering happens when the tires are hotter than the working window. The extra heat damages the structure and causes the rubber to erupt, eventually causing ‘blisters’ on the surface of the tire.
All these issues are caused by various factors and variables at play during a race weekend. Now let’s have a look at these factors and how they affect the tires.
Braking Zones
All the moving inertia of an F1 car is reduced in a braking zone with the tires taking all the load of this energy shift. Small bits of rubber are deposited into the tarmac every time a car brakes. The number of braking zones and intensity of braking in each zone affect the tire’s life.
Heavy braking zones also increase the possibility of a lock-up, which again strips the tires of the rubber and leaves a flat patch on it. Braking zones are generally responsible for tire wear, but the heat involved in the process may also cause blistering.
Turn 1 in Baku, Monza, and Bahrain are great examples of heavy braking zones after a long straight.
Lateral Tire Load
F1 drivers face up to 5Gs of force in some of the fastest turns on the calendar. However, the same force is also faced by the tires. A car going 300 plus km/h puts a lot of lateral load on the outside tires as the inertia is shifted in the opposite direction of the turn.
Hence, the tarmac demands a lot of friction in these fast corners to keep the car from sliding, adding to the wearing of the tires. Eau Rouge and Raidillon from Spa Francorchamps is a good example of this type of corner.
Back to Back Corners
Tracks like the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya feature long shopping back-to-back corners in the same direction. The constant load on the same side of the tire shoots the tire temperatures above the operating window causing a mismatch of tire temperatures on either side of the tire. If a long straight is not accompanied by such a straining set of corners, the tires can easily blister in just a few laps.
Even corners like Maggotts and Becketts at Silverstone that require a quick change in direction demand a lot from the tires.
Track Surface
F1 races on different types of tracks including street and permanent circuits. Some permanent circuits are older while others are made with the new technology. All this causes a lot of variation in the type of track surface.
Street circuits aren’t as well maintained as the proper F1 circuits with a lot of uneven surfaces causing varying degrees of wear in different sections. On the other hand, some track surface areas are more abrasive than others depending on the material used for construction. An abrasive track wears the tires out quickly.
The surfacing of a track also affects the tires. A newly surfaced track doesn’t have any tire deposits and is slippery for the cars. As a result, the tires grain with the cars sliding all over the place.
Track Temperatures
The weather plays a crucial role in the track temperatures. The heat cycles of the tires are often extreme at tracks with a higher average track temperature like Bahrain. On the other hand, if the temperature is cold, like at the Las Vegas GP, or rain hits the track, the tires slide around leading to graining and tire wear.
Tire Compound
Pirelli has a wide range of tires from the C1 (the hardest) to the C5 (the softest) to choose from. Considering all the reasons mentioned above, Pirelli decided to bring three compounds to a specific race that suits the needs.
Further, each tire has its properties and working window. This makes each tire react, wear, and degrade differently on different cars. As already seen this year, the Red Bull matches McLaren on some compounds but then loses out on others.
Other Factors
Factors like the driving style, suspension setup, tire pressure, ride height, and brake balance can all affect how a tire performs and behaves. However, all of these can be controlled by the teams and the drivers.
