Post here all non technical related topics about Formula One. This includes race results, discussions, testing analysis etc. TV coverage and other personal questions should be in Off topic chat.
Someone who has read the rule book can help me out on this, as was mentioned after Aussie GP that the 2nd set of MS' tire was of the softer compound BS despite he started out on the harder ones. It was my understanding that although this year they are not required to nominate the tire choice on Friday, they are still require to stay with the tire compound they chose to qualify with. So MS' pace were probably not down to a different tire, rather maybe a better set or just plainly a more warmed up set.(he was running lighter in 2nd stint too).
I thought you start out on the tire that you qualified with but on the pit stops you can change to a different compound if you want.
Simon: Nils? You can close in now. Nils?
John McClane: [on the guard's phone] Attention! Attention! Nils is dead! I repeat, Nils is dead, ----head. So's his pal, and those four guys from the East German All-Stars, your boys at the bank? They're gonna be a little late.
Simon: [on the phone] John... in the back of the truck you're driving, there's $13 billon dollars worth in gold bullion. I wonder would a deal be out of the question?
John McClane: [on the phone] Yeah, I got a deal for you. Come out from that rock you're hiding under, and I'll drive this truck up your ass.
F1 Sporting regs wrote:wheels and tyres may be removed, changed or rebalanced and tyre pressures checked
And yes, the same specification must be used for qualifying/race.
The reason for Schumacher's upped pace was simply better tyre temperatures. It was probably due to the fact that the set was better, which generated more grip, which thus generated more tyre temperatures, which ultimately made him go faster. Or it might have just been due to the fact that the track was hotter.
F1 Sporting regs wrote: It was probably due to the fact that the set was better, .
Maybe I'm misunderstanding something, but how the hell of 2 set of same compoud made by the same manufacturer can you have one better than another?
But saying that, it's possible to damage (flat spotting, blistering, etc...) thus obtaining an dvantage by changing for new one. Personnaly I think he just was lighter on the second stint, considering his pit stop was one of the shortest of the race.
F1 Sporting regs wrote: It was probably due to the fact that the set was better, .
Maybe I'm misunderstanding something, but how the hell of 2 set of same compoud made by the same manufacturer can you have one better than another?
But saying that, it's possible to damage (flat spotting, blistering, etc...) thus obtaining an dvantage by changing for new one. Personnaly I think he just was lighter on the second stint, considering his pit stop was one of the shortest of the race.
tire manufacrturing is still as much of a science as a black art....and on the stuff like F1 tire they are even more exotic because it is so custom made. And as anything of the sort, the QA process is not exactly a tightly controlled one....
What you're saying stunt me! I strongly believed the chemical composition of a race tire was very strict and that it was made with nearly the same precision as the nasa (ok a bit exagerated but you see my point) in both developpement and manufacturing. I mean, controlled by powerfull computers, with specialied materials, and most of all, a drastic selection to ensure there are no defective tires. Do you have informations about how it's done?
For racing tires, part of the layup is done by hand. Although they make every effort for consistency, As we all witness, some tires are just different.
I believe Shu started the Aussie race with a full load and hard compound tires. And his pace just sucked. He made his first pit stop more to change tires than add fuel, and at the end of that stint, was turning quite respectable, competitive times. Heck, before he crashed he was challenging for position. Ferrari have a quick, competitive car. They just had about the worst mix of ingredients at the start of the race. And they had a few mistakes to compound their embarassment.
