The tires are the most important-arguably the most confusing-part of the modern Grand Prix. The team is assigned different sets to use at different times, and managing this process requires a large team.
It's not always that complicated-but the introduction of a variety of different tire types has completely changed the sport, making it a complex strategy game. Here, we explored how to do this.
To win in F1 is to implement a highly adjusted plan. The same applies to poker. See where your game plan can get you. Click here to start your game plan.
Over 18 years old, only new players in the UK, minimum £10 deposit, full terms and conditions apply, begambleaware.org, play responsibly
Since 2011, Pirelli has been the current supplier. The Italian company took over Bridgestone, which has been the only supplier since its competitor Michelin withdrew from the sport in 2007.
F1 has only had one tire supplier since 2007, when the FIA ​​decided to restrict competition to prevent rising costs and help narrow the performance gap between different teams.
However, it is not always a single show. Five different manufacturers participated in the 1950s. Since the start of the World Championship, F1 has nine different manufacturers: Avon, Bridgestone, Continental, Dunlop, Engelbert, Firestone, Goodyear and Michelin.
When Pirelli reached F1, the company was asked to deliberately design tires that could not last for a full race. The idea is to force the team to make more pit stops (without the danger of refueling) and make the race more unpredictable.
The new regulations were introduced in 2017 and have since been adjusted. This year, the latest changes were made to the harder structure to make the tires stronger and more durable.
Pirelli tires in the pit lane
Photography: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Pirelli has developed five different tire specifications for F1, designated C1 to C5. C1 is the hardest and C5 is the softest. There are also two types of rain tires: intermediate tires and full wet tires.
Three of the five dry weather tires were allocated to each event and the team was notified a few weeks in advance. Then color-code them, the hardest of the three has white stripes and letters, yellow in the middle, and the softest red.
Intermediate tires and wet tires are also brought to every event-even in the Middle East, where rain is extremely unlikely-and these tires are color coded as green for "middle" and blue for completely wet ground.
F1 cars have been using 13-inch rims for many years, and the diameter of the tire and rim combination is 26.4 inches (67 cm). The front is 30.5 cm wide, the rear is 40.5 cm wide, the middle is 5 cm wide, and the total wet width is 10 cm.
Starting in 2022, the rim size will increase to 18 inches (45.7 cm), but the tire and rim diameter will only increase to 28.3 inches (72 cm). The lower profile design will change the way cars behave on the track, theoretically making them more sensitive to changes in direction.
Excluding the rims, the front and rear tires weigh 9.5 kg and 11.5 kg respectively-approximately 1.5 times the weight of a bowling ball.
Tire a is made of a mixture of natural and synthetic rubber and man-made fibers. They are composed of bead wire, carcass, belt and tread. Once installed on the rim, they are filled with nitrogen because it remains more stable at different temperatures.
The bead is the thick, inflexible part of the innermost part of the tire. It contains fibers and ridges designed to grip the rim. The carcass includes sidewalls that are made only of rubber and will bend under high loads and an outer surface that must be durable. The belt wrapped around the carcass makes the tire strong and is covered with an outer layer of compound about half a centimeter thick, which is the part that grips but also wears.
Red Bull Racing RB16B, tire detail
Smooth tires, without tread patterns, first appeared in F1 in 1971, and all dry tires are made this way. That's because it forms the largest contact area between the tire and the ground. The grooves are really only used to help guide the water away, so they are not needed when wet-the more the tire is in contact with the track, the more grip it can provide.
F1 did reintroduce grooved dry tires in 1998-but only to slow down the car. There is a set of circumferential grooves around each tire. They do not remove water, but only reduce the total amount of rubber in contact with the track. They did the job-but it was abandoned when the oil slick came back in 2009.
Rain tires do have grooves, and the grooves of the middle tire (or "intermediate tire") are shallower than that of a fully wet tire. Inters is used in wet or dry circuits, each tire moves 30 liters of water per second, while the full wet type is 85 liters, which makes it more resistant to skidding in heavy rain. The compound is also different-inter lasts longer on a wet track, while the fully wet ones need to be kept moist to avoid overheating.
The level of grip produced by a tire depends on the formula of the compound that makes up the tire's surface. Each tire is made with a different rubber formula, and choosing between softer and harder tires is about the balance between durability (or degradation) and speed.
Hard C1 tires are suitable for racing tracks with fast corners, rough surfaces or high ambient temperatures. It takes longer to warm up and grip, but is super durable and can handle hard things longer. The mid-range C3 is the most widely used tire, while the C5 is the fastest, suitable for tighter, more tortuous tracks and times—such as qualifying—when the focus is on peak performance rather than wear, because it can only Lasts a few laps.
Outside the tires, AlphaTauri AT02 garage
Photography: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
The team is told at least two weeks before each race what tire size it will use. This defines three available dry tyre specifications, two must be used in the race, and the other (always the softest) must be used when the car enters the final stages of qualifying.
In each game, the supplier will show and hand over all tire groups to the FIA ​​technical representative. To ensure independence and unbiasedness, the FIA ​​assigns all the different settings to different cars.
Each team has 13 sets of dry tyres for weekend use-two sets of hard tyres, three sets of medium tyres and eight sets of soft tyres. They also received four sets of intermediate tires and three sets of fully wet tires.
If any of the FP1 or FP2 practice matches on Friday is wet, or the practice FP3 on Saturday morning seems likely to be wet, the team will get another set of middlemen to play the match-but they must return them before the start A set of qualifying matches used.
A digital tagging system is used to strictly monitor the usage of tires, which allows the team to pick up, return and replace tires on weekends. It's complicated, so fasten your seat belt and stay with me...
In the 13 groups, the team must nominate a group that can only be used within the first 40 minutes of the first practice, and must surrender the group within two hours after the end of FP1 and another group.
Two more sets will be returned within two hours after the end of FP2 (unless both sessions are wet or cancelled, in which case, one set can be kept until the end of FP3), and the other two sets will be returned within two hours of FP3.
All teams must prepare a new set of softest compounds for the final part of qualifying, Q3, to prevent them from entering. Then all cars in Q3 must use the kit during the top 10 shootout, and return the used qualifying to set this type within three and a half hours after the end of the qualifying match.
In the race, drivers must use at least two different types of dry tires, at least one of which must be one of the mandatory race specifications mentioned earlier. If it rains, use mid-grade or wet tires, and if drivers don’t want to change them, they don’t even need to change tires at all. However, this rarely happens-Esteban Ocon became the first driver in Turkey to change tires without stopping in 24 years.
All teams that have not entered Q3 can choose which tires to use to start the race, but those teams that enter the top 10 shootout must use the exact tire set session they used to participate in the race (unless it rains on the day of the race).
This is why some teams try to bet on medium-sized tires to pass Q2 instead of using faster and softer compounds in order to provide them with more strategic space in the race. If the tires are damaged in the second quarter, the team can request a replacement, but the decision whether to replace the tires depends on the FIA ​​technical representative.
Piles of tires in a heated blanket
When tires are piled up in the repair station waiting to be loaded or boarded, the tire blanket is wrapped around each tire. They are used to heat the tire compound to racing temperature, because for any driver, going out with cold, smooth tires is no fun.
The typical temperature is about 110 degrees Celsius, and the blanket is designed to maintain a uniform distribution on the circumference of the tire. It is wound on the tire and fixed with a Velcro connector and two drawstrings. The rim is equipped with a circular cover, and Velcro is also used.
The tires are carefully recorded and stored in groups. When they need to be moved, they are stacked on a trolley and connected to a power source through color-coded wires. Each tire has its own temperature monitor. According to reports, the cost of this trolley unit is about 5,000 pounds, and the cost of each blanket is about 1,500 pounds.
Before the race, all teams will get a set of starting parameters for the tires-the pressure they must run, the maximum temperature that the tires can be heated to in the tire blanket, and the camber angle they must set. These are all set individually and calculated by Pirelli based on the data provided by the team.
Once on the right track, pressure and temperature will change with conditions-tire pressure drops as temperature drops, and vice versa-and there is no stipulation on what these must be, mainly because there is no way to monitor them.
The starting parameters are designed to ensure safe operating loads at the start of the race, but the lower the tire pressure, the greater the potential grip as long as the compound is within the correct operating temperature range. If there is a way to take advantage of this, you can be the one that the team will try.
However, starting next year, the new tires will include a standard sensor controlled by the FIA. This will allow them to always fully monitor the driving pressure and pay close attention to the tires in order to warn of impending failures.
George Russell on Pirelli tires, Mercedes W10 mule
Photography: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
With the end of F1 testing in Abu Dhabi, Schwarzman put Haas in the first place
Abu Dhabi F1 showcased the technology to be tested before the new look in 2022
McLaren trials LED wheel cover lights in F1 post-season testing
After the Abu Dhabi F1 dispute, Seidel defended Massi
With the end of F1 testing in Abu Dhabi, Schwarzman put Haas in the first place
F1 tires-how they work and related rules
Verstappen World Champion/End of Hamilton’s Reign
Abu Dhabi F1 showcased the technology to be tested before the new look in 2022
Insider's guide: What are the tire rules for F1?
With the end of F1 testing in Abu Dhabi, Schwarzman put Haas in the first place