Its all about the tyres!

Skeeter

Skeeter

Skeeter

Caporegime
Joined
8 Mar 2007
Posts
37,146
Location
Surrey
So, I think its unanimous that were all not keen on Formula 1s current trend of races dominated by tyre strategies. So what would you do? You never know, maybe someone from the FIA browsed here ;).

So the current tyre rules are:
- 4 dry compounds about half a second apart of which 2 are brought to each race
- 2 wet compounds
- Each car gets 18 sets of tyres for the whole weekend (6 prime, 5 option, 4 inters and 3 wet)
- 2 sets of prime and 1 set if options are returned at the end of Friday.
- 1 prime and 1 option are returned after P3.
- Drivers making it through to Q3 must start the race on the same exact set of tyres they set their fastest Q3 lap time on.
- Both compounds must be used during the race, mandating at least 1 pit stop.
- No refueling during the race

From the above my personal view is that the requirement to run both compounds in the race needs to go, as does the requirement to start on your qualifying tyres. The ability to run a prime first strategy is removed from the top 10 unless they scrap qualifying. Qualifying should be an out and out fight between 10 drivers, not a luke warm short scrap between 4 or 5 with the rest sitting in the garage.

The problem that brings is that it runs the risk of making races 1 or even 0 stops if the tyres last. To force people to stop the tyres need to wear out, but then that introduces tyre management again, which were all bored of. So there needs to be a reward for scrapping your tyres. The longer goal should therefore be to produce tyres that are 1 second a lap quicker for a consistent period (15 laps or so). That way an all option race can be up to 60 seconds faster than an all prime race, but the flip side needs to be durability that matches. The options need to last half as long (but again, with consistency). So your then looking at a 1 stop prime race, a 3 stop options race, or a 2 stop mixed race.

BUT, this won't work with the current tyre allocations. Drivers enter qualifying with 3 sets of each, and the top guys as a minimum will do 3 runs. They simply don't have enough sets for that and a whole race on a single compound (a 3 stop option race would need 4 sets of option tyres). So they need more. However, we can't just give them more as that will give an advantage to people not making it through to Q3 with extra tyres. We don't want to see people trying to qualify 11th so they have a pile of new options for the race. So I suggest additional tyres that are handed back after qualifying. No advantage for not making it through, but plenty of tyres to push on. Make then the options to, as its qualifying. Ideally leave the drivers with 4 sets of options and 3 sets of primes for the race.

So, in summary:
Scrap the start on qualifying tyres rule, allowing every driver free choice of strategy
Scrap the use 2 compounds rule, allowing full races on the same compound
Give each car at least 2 more sets of options and 1 more set of primes (still less dry sets than they had in the Bridgestone days)
Make them give back 1 of each after qualifying. Keep the other 'give back's rules as they are
In the long term, aim for consistent 1 second a lap differences in the compounds brought to a race, and consistent life in the tyres.
Allow Pirrelli to test at a number of F1 venues before deciding which compounds to bring for the race.

What would you do?

tl;dr - the tyre rules suck, how would you fix them?
 
Last edited:
Personally I like that the front 10 start on qualifying tyres (there is also more interesting starts because of this imo, if they were all on brand new sets, the most likely outcome is less excitement come 1st corner)

If the soft's were a consistant 1s /lap faster and lasted 10 - 15 laps its less likely you would get the qualifying farce that happened on Saturday (especially if Pirelli were able to test on the track x weeks before). Harder tyres lasting 75% or so longer but slower/lap (ie so given approx. 20s in most pitlanes - two cars on different tyres are out head to head after they both stop)

~ However, surely this is fabricating the racing in another way ~

The farce was because the soft's weren't going to last a reasonable length of time, so team's were forced into the situation of going out on a non-qualifying/q3 tyre to optimise their race.

Im all for pit action (and I would love re-fueling to come back in but that's never going to happen), its still a TEAM sport, and changing tyres is the only other regular thing that cars require. If you don't force everyone to change tyres at some point, every race will be won by the fastest car that season. The fact that RBR's might not like the harder tyres as much as the Ferrari (for instance) makes the racing more interesting. It would be a whitewash if only one grade of tyre was used. (Unless you want Pirelli to produce enough tyres for Practice, Qualifying and Race for every team in every grade/type of tyre, - think how many 100's /1000's of tyres wouldn't be used....come the end of the season the best tracks ruined by non-optimal tyres to get rid of the surplus?)

Maybe WCC should be scrapped altogether and WDC should be where everything is focused (one set of points, prize money based on this etc etc)

Take away the over-reliance on aero and move back to mechanical grip - and take away DRS - would improve the overtaking issues a great deal. Taking away DRS on its own would make the racing a whole lot more boring imo with nothing happening at all in races.
 
I can't recall a season where it's not been about getting the best use of the tyres?

Still we had all this wailing last year until the teams got on top of it.
 
i quite like it the way it is at the moment.... Everyone has the same problems so its a pretty level playing field..

I have more of an issue with fuel saving.. Teams should have to fuel the car so that it can be run at full throttle for the entire race.. having to save fuel 20 laps from the end is a joke..
 
mmj_uk said:
Just watch another sport if you want less contrived racing, there are plenty out there.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately the production value on most other top racing sports (WTCC, DTM, BTCC <possibly the exception) is no where near as good, or as accessible as F1.

Whilst I agree with what you are saying, and I personally much prefer the racing in BTCC/DTM than on F1, its not as 'easy' to watch with the same depth as with F1 at present.
 
I thought it would be good to collect everyones thoughts and ideas in a single thread. But it seems everyone is happy with the rules, so I don't need to worry :p
 
The rules aren't conducive to it being an entertainment spectacle, eg: had Vettel listened to the rules last month it would have been a boring last 15 laps.

The DRS is something now which has made it far to easy to pass, highlighted yesterday. Literally nothing could be done to defend unless you had an incredibly fast car in a straight line - Hamilton getting done by both ferraris in one go is a prime example.

Gone are the days of a driver putting in an amazing last sector behind a rival to allow them the extra few KM's down the straight to allow a good overtaking manoeuvre.

Races are won and lost in the pits and on the pitwall with strategists, not on the race track where it should be.
 
Get rid of parc ferme qualifying rule and the requirement to start on the same tyres.

As for watching another sport with less contrived racing, I already do that. ;)
 
Most of the recommendations have already been stated, but a rule I'd like to ADD is..

Every driver in q3 shall set a competitive lap time. Those drivers that elect to sit out the session get a 5 place grid drop. If all 10 do not set a time then the grid drop will apply based on the q2 classification.

The fact that drivers can cruise around in 4 mins and return to the pits for the order to be decided purely on "who left the garage first" is retarded.
 
The only reason they do that is to allow them to start on the primes. If the rules allowed that anyway then they wouldn't need to cruise around.
 
The tyre rules are the same for everyone.

The tyre compounds are the same for everyone.

Pirelli have provided the tyres in accordance with what the FIA wanted.

The only thing you could complain about on Sunday was maybe they should have ran the medium and hard compounds instead. But it was the same for everyone so it doesn't really matter.

Race strategy has been a big part of F1 for years and years. Look at the time Schumcher won the French GP by stopping 4 times.

At the end of the day the top 5 places were occupied by five world champions, so whatever the rules are the cream always comes to the top.

I'd say that's exactly what the pinnacle of motorsport is all about.
 
Not sure if this has already been mentioned... F1 rookies set to get extra set of tyres for Friday practice



The part I found interesting was...
Pirelli has proposed to supply an additional set of tyres, built to the same construction as the current race rubber but using a more durable compound, for any team running a rookie driver on Friday mornings.
Click to expand...
Which makes it sounds as though Pirelli already have more durable tyres ready to use should the decision be made that they are needed.
 
All of the proposals in this thread so far seemingly fail to account for the fact that the teams get used to the behaviour of the tyres as the season goes on. That encourages a development race which is great but you end up with compromised races as a result.

There isn't an easy solution to this problem. We could easily have a situation in race 1 where the softer tyre was a second a lap faster and lasted for 15-20 laps but in race 15 that tyre could last almost the entire race distance, or a big enough part of it that it made the harder tyre pointless.

The current regs mean that you don't get the teams working all out to get the softest tyre to last while binning set after set after set of the harder tyres.

I think it would be interesting to see the teams issued with three sets of qualifying tyres and all teams having the choice to start the race on either tyre. You'd get people locking up and having to either hope their time was good enough to get into Q2/Q3 or burn another set of tyres and compromise the final session. That would keep quali boxed to just quali, rather than quali tyre choice compromising the racing on Sunday.
 
DRZ said:
All of the proposals in this thread so far seemingly fail to account for the fact that the teams get used to the behaviour of the tyres as the season goes on.
Click to expand...

I guess you missed the bit where I said changes to the compound would be a longer term thing? Rule changes can happen quickly, changing the design of the tyres definitely not.

Maybe they could mandate a number of stops? That way developments around the tyres would be for teams to make them quicker, rather than make them last longer as the season progresses?

DRZ said:
I think it would be interesting to see the teams issued with three sets of qualifying tyres and all teams having the choice to start the race on either tyre.
Click to expand...

When you think about what Qualifying should mean, lining people up in outright fastest order, the idea that anyone would use the slower tyre in this session seems bizarre.

3 sets of softs just for qualifying might be good. The slower teams will do 2 runs in Q1 and still go out. The midfield might make it through with 1 run, maybe 2 in Q1 and then a couple in Q2 using the same tyres. While teams who think they will easily get through may go for 1 run on the same set in Q1 and Q2 and save 2 sets for runs in Q3.

Whatever the allocation specifics, more tyres just for qualifying would help.

That would keep quali boxed to just quali, rather than quali tyre choice compromising the racing on Sunday.
Click to expand...

This is a major issue for me. I don't understand why the FIA want to tie qualifing and the race togther like this. They started it with the fuel loads and now cling onto it with the tyres. Its pointless.
 
Last edited:
Flinstone wheels would fix everything

(not serious answer)

In reality all we are really crying for are the softs to be more than 2 seconds a lap faster than the hards for about 8 laps with the hards lasting about 25/30 odd laps (depending on track length) leaving a situation where touring round on one set of tyres or tearing it around on 3 sets produce about the same level or results and a close race.

This is held back by 2 basic problems, a limit on tyres over the weekend (including compounds) and a massive limit on the fuel effect/engine development.

Basically F1 has dug its self in a hole over the last 20 years with aero not only becoming key but also being the only "cost effective" thing to develop.

So my solutions, new engine format (nice and open to with plenty of fun developments and no rev limits), mandatory amount of fuel (stolen idea) and then get 2 or 3 tyre manufactures in on the game with no requirements on compounds or stops.

Could get out of hand/expensive but changing the emphasis of the teams is the only way to improve the spectacle really...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom