The Official 2013 F1 Thread. Spoilers possible!

[g®eg]

Interesting test rig on the Lotus



they tell me it is a Kistler RoadDyn: it measures wheelforces for gathering tire model data.

[doyle]

Originally Posted by wxwax

Oh, they've all talked about the quick tire degradation, about one good lap and then they go off apparently. It may be that they're not ripping Pirelli by name because they know that the manufacturer is only doing the FIA's bidding.

One driver had the nous to mention that this kind of tire made for exciting races last season. A driver with perspective, whodathunk it?

I detest that flavor of artificiality brought into F1, but at the same time, I am a fan of pit stops and the strategic influence they demand so I guess in a certain sense it's a bit hypocritical of me but I will reiterate the point I stated last season...which is that while Pirelli may be simply doing the bidding of the FIA, and since the main goal of being involved is to sell tires on Monday, that Pirelli would agree to showcase an incredibly inferior product in such a high profile way is mind boggling to me.

99% of the fans will not realize that Pirelli is simply providing the tire that the FIA asks for to create their version of excitement. What they will see is a tire, emblazoned with the Pirelli name, being blamed and discussed for such a small window of driveability. I find it hard to believe any marketing division would want to showcase their product under those circumstances.

[g®eg]

as far as the tires go.. I can see your point.
but, it seems to me the spin (in the end) and the fan understanding of the dynamics is much better than you give credit for. it seems to me the fans of F1 are pretty smart.. I'm a fan & I am smart ... but I digress

the fact that the tires are all the same (level playing field) and some drivers do better than others on different days doesn't seem to reflect badly on Pirelli.

I think they handle it all pretty well since it isn't a tire war anymore. now if there were a couple of suppliers, like the old days, and one set wasn't up to scratch, that would cause a big stink.

[g®eg]

Button on tires:

Button: 2013 tires easier to understand

February 22, 2013



Jenson Button is certain the 2013 Pirelli Formula 1 tires will offer a fair playing field despite their high degradation.
Although the rate at which tires lose performance has been a dominant theme of preseason testing so far, Button said that there has been no problem understanding how to get the rubber working, unlike last year.
"This year is more difficult in terms of graining than last year, but in terms of understanding the tire it's a lot easier," he said. "You can get it in its working range, and you know by lap three or four it's going to start graining.
"Compared to last season, it's more of a fair playing field. Last year there were teams who could the tires working but not know why. It was just because their cars worked with those tires. Other teams really had to fight to get those tires to work. They were really on a knife-edge.
"It took us six or seven months to really get a handle on the tires, like a lot of teams, whereas these tires are different. They're much easier to understand and easier to get in their working range."
But Red Bull's Mark Webber believes the revised tires still have potential to deliver 'random' results in another way. He argued that the anticipated high number of pit stops and difficulty in finding grip increased the prospect of top teams tripping up.
"We know when you have multiple stops and a lot of degradation in the races, there's more chance for things to go wrong, so there can be mixed results," said Webber.



This article originally appeared in Autosport.com

[wxwax]

I agree. Anyone who watches racing knows that tires degrade. So the only issue is how fast they degrade.

I don't think Pirelli is being harmed by this. Their brand is getting an enormous amount of exposure. People may be talking about tire degradation, but not in a way that reflects poorly on Pirelli.

[g®eg]

Originally Posted by wxwax

I agree. Anyone who watches racing knows that tires degrade. So the only issue is how fast they degrade.

I don't think Pirelli is being harmed by this. Their brand is getting an enormous amount of exposure. People may be talking about tire degradation, but not in a way that reflects poorly on Pirelli.

a snip from an interview with Eric Broullier at Lotus

Like all teams, Lotus has struggled with tire degradation, with one of Romain Grosjean's race simulation stints cut short yesterday because of it. But Boullier is reserving judgement until the cars run in warmer temperatures. "It looks like they're degrading more," he said. "But we saw last year when it was cold that the tires were completely out of the [temperature] range, graining and degrading massively.
"We need to wait now to have hotter temperatures to see how the tires are working and if there is a big difference. In Brazil [using 2013 development rubber in practice] the tires weren't degrading that much."

[Fajita Dave]

I am worried about what this high rate of wear is going to do to passing. We saw last year that it was impossible to pass in some areas of a track just because of the rolled up rubber that was off the racing line. If there's even more (and possibly TWICE as much!!!) it could make passing completely impossible after the halfway point of the race because you'll be driving on a 3 inch deep bed of marbles if you try to pass someone.

[A. T. T-W]

All tyres shed rubber, there is always a clean and a dirty line. It makes no difference is there's more 'marbles' off-line (or even none at all), it will always offer less grip (off-line) because it is off-line.

Pirelli said that they'd make tyres that would have a certain lifespan in race conditions. They've said the same in the past and have done exactly that. We've yet to see how they perform in race conditions. So far we've only seen winter testing. They say that they've produced a tyre that is more easily "understood". I see no reason to disbelieve them but like last season, the variation in chassis performance will mean that some teams will find it easier than others.

It's fun to speculate, it's interesting trying to work out which teams are struggling and which are sandbagging but we won't know the truth until the first few races are done and dusted (last year, the first race performance of McLaren flattered to deceive, it looked as though they were going to dominate - Ha! How wrong that turned out).

[wxwax]

Poppa Bear comes out of hibernation.

[wannaklr]

So who has the F1 races on tv in the US? Nothing on the Speed calendar for March 17th.

[Jurgen]

Originally Posted by wannaklr

So who has the F1 races on tv in the US? Nothing on the Speed calendar for March 17th.

I believe they are going to be on NBCSports (formerly Vs) which is now Directv 220.

[wannaklr]

Originally Posted by Jurgen

I believe they are going to be on NBCSports (formerly Vs) which is now Directv 220.

Thanks. I even have DirectTV.

[wxwax]

You'll recognize the speakers, too. Sadly, the best of the trio didn't make the jump. Instead we get Mr. Excitement, the man with no volume knob, Leigh Diffey.

[Clem Kevin]

Originally Posted by wxwax

You'll recognize the speakers, too. Sadly, the best of the trio didn't make the jump. Instead we get Mr. Excitement, the man with no volume knob, Leigh Diffey.

I don't know one could like Varsha, Diffey, or Hobbs. They all drive me crazy; I would have endured the stupid speed commercials if they weren't there.

[wannaklr]

I liked the Varsha, Hobbes, and Matchett trio. It was like I was sitting around with friends watching races.