Fine-Tuning a Formula 1 Tire

In a sport where the difference between two drivers is hundredths of a second, even tires are incredible pieces of engineering?pieces that have to be fine-tuned for each event. In a teleconference with reporters today, Pirelli?s Head of Motorsport, Paul Hembrey, discussed the challenges involved with getting tires just right for next weekend?s Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.

This is the first F1 race in the U.S. since 2007, and the first time the sport will tackle Austin?s brand-new Circuit of the Americas. The new track presented Pirelli with a new set of unknown characteristics, Hembrey says. With the usual cast of courses the sport frequents?such as Spa, Monaco, and Monza?Pirelli engineers could rely on precedent to inform their tire tinkering. Not in Texas. ?"There?s a lot of tension surrounding the first race at a new track," Hembrey says.

That tension is caused in part by Michelin tire failures in the 2005 U.S. Grand Prix. Organizers deemed the Michelin tires unsafe after a series of them failed in practice; fourteen cars of the field of 20 were forced to retire before the start of the race in one of the biggest controversies in recent F1 history. Although that was seven years ago and a different track, it casts a long shadow over the revived U.S. Grand Prix. So Pirelli is going to great lengths to make sure its rubber is ready for the road.

To match tire to track, Pirelli start with gathering as much data on the circuit as possible. As soon as the final layer of asphalt was laid earlier last month, Pirelli engineers took moldings of the track surface to measure it?s smoothness, as well laser scans of the circuit to record every bump and dip on the tarmac. That information is then fed into a battery of simulation models?both Pirelli?s and the various team simulators?to calculate what kind of loads the drivers will inflict upon the tires, how their balance shifts as the rubber heats up and fuel weight is shed, and most importantly, how the tires will degrade over time.

Hembrey says Pirelli must strike a fine balance between tire degradation and grip. Softer tires will provide more grip and quicker lap times but will wear out much faster; while harder compounds will provide less grip but allow drivers to stay out on the track longer. Since Pirelli is the sole tire supplier for F1, they need to ensure that the balance between performance and durability is relatively the same from race to race?as teams already have enough variables to deal with on the cars.

And there's the question of entertainment, too: If the balance between grip and durability is too even, then teams no longer need to worry about tire management strategy, turning the race into a boring precession. "The tire needs to become a technical challenge for the teams."

Pirelli will offer two types to the teams for the race weekend: a softer "prime" tire and a harder "option" tire. The prime tire provides better grip, but lap times will fall off by as much as .3 seconds as the tire wears out. The option tire provides less grip, but lap times diminish by just .1 second over the tire's lifespan.

Teams will have access to the medium and hard compounds once the first practice sessions start on Friday. "Our initial data suggests the track is quite smooth," Hembrey says. "There was no big shocks or surprises."

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/auto-blog/fine-tuning-a-formula-1-tire-14593129?src=rss

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