Pirelli tweaks tires in pursuit of better F1 racing

Posted by Mikel on January 26th, 2012 at 02:57am

Throwing caution to the wind, Pirelli plans a new range of tires for the 2012 Formula 1 season that it hopes will make for even better racing.

The key changes involve making all of the regular, dry weather tires softer — so they degrade quicker — and lessening the differences between them.

Cosmetically, a key change is that the different colors should be easier to see.

The whole bit is right here in a statement from Pirelli.

It sounds like a goal of all this is to offer teams a little more in the way of strategy options. You might recall that last season saw a lot of teams hold out on running on the slower, harder of the two tire compounds. But even with that, by many accounts, Pirelli’s tires were the key reason why there was so much good racing. (Take that, DRS!)

From the company’s press release:

The evolution of the Pirelli tyres for 2012 has also taken into account the regulation changes introduced by the FIA regarding blown exhausts. This new measure, which should result in a reduction of aerodynamic downforce acting on each tyre, requires a wider and more even contact patch. This objective has been met by having a less rounded shoulder on each tyre and using softer compounds, which produce better grip and more extreme performance. The performance gap has changed as well between the different compounds, which all now perform better. During the 2011 season, there was a difference of between 1.2 and 1.8 seconds per lap among the different compounds. This year, the objective is to reduce that to less than a second: between six and eight tenths.

Pirelli held a press conference today, during which motorsport director Paul Hembery said the following, according to the BBC:

“We have had to make changes and the objective of those changes is to make the racing closer.

“There is a smaller gap in performance between the compounds. Last year the teams were making choices based on tyres that had a 1.5 seconds difference – we have tried to get that down below one second and the aim is to have it at around 0.8 seconds.”

“We were going through races where teams would maximise use of the sets of the higher performing compound, which were soft in 2011, and minimising use of the hard or medium. From that point of view the second compound would not come into the strategy.

“We want a lower gap between compounds, with the slower tyre degrading slightly less. Then teams will have to make a decision on which tyre to go with.

“Last year we made it too easy for the teams by using soft compounds at each weekend, so they based their weekends around that. This year we want to mix it up more.”

It all sounds promising. It is, of course, clear manipulation of the racing — but maybe that’s OK. Is it what we as fans have to live with in a world of hyper-aero and ultra-designed F1 cars? Perhaps it is a factor you like added to the mix?

Under Racing