09. Wheels and Tyres

Wheels and TyresToday's F1 cars are running 18-inch wheels (up from 13 inches in recent years) with the widths unchanged - 305mm... There's more... are critical to the performance of an F1F1 is the pinnacle of open wheel,  single seater car racing and arguably the highest level of any motorsport globally.... There's more... car. Beyond the obvious function, they are a science of their own, where gripGrip is the magic that holds the car on the road as it accelerates, turns and brakes at extreme levels.... There's more... is balanced with durability to maximise speed over distance. 

Consider this, F1 involves a driverOK, so we all know what the driver is, right. I've always liked the description that F1 drivers are like... There's more... in a $3.0m car (chassisThe chassis in F1 is a monocoque or shell construction that uses an external carbon fibre skin to support most... There's more..., aeroSlang for Aerodynamic Aerodynamics is the science of controlling how the air behaves as the car cuts through it at... There's more..., technology and safety system) powered by a $10.0m power unitF1 cars no longer have engines as such, they run a hybrid power unit (PU) that delivers in the order... There's more..., producing 1000 hpHorsepower (HP) was conceived by the engineer James Watt (also known for the term Watt used to measure the output... There's more... and setting speeds over 330 kph, while cornering at 310 kph and up to 5.0 g’s. 100% dependent on a small contact patchThe contact patch is the area of the tyre that is in contact with the track surface. This is the... There's more... from four $700.00 tyres (a set costs $2,700.00).

In 2022 the FIAFédération Internationale de l'Automobile is the association responsible for the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users across the... There's more... applied a major overhaul to the regulations that define F1, and the cars adopted 18-inch wheels with a lower profile PirelliPirelli is the exclusive supplier of tyres to Formula 1 having secured the contract in 2011. The range consists of... There's more... tyre. The 305mm front and 405 wide rear tyres are matched to the track surface, and circuitA circuit is a racetrack for car racing. There's more... type through a range of compoundsThe compound is a reference to the rubber that the tyre's wearing surface is constructed from. Pirelli has developed a... There's more... and are run at pressures prescribed by Pirelli. 

Assembly

The wheel assembly is a critical part of the car set-up, holding in the track and enabling it to cornerIn formula 1, a corner is much more than a turn on the track, it is a considered and deliberate... There's more... at astonishing speeds. The wheels must withstand immense forces of accelerationAcceleration is a calculation of how fast it takes the car to go from zero to a set time, usually... There's more..., braking and cornering. Fixed to the car with wishbone suspensionSuspension is the connection between a car and its wheels, managing how the car travels and responding to the driver's... There's more... they are adjusted through push-rod or pull-rod systems and dampers. Ride height, rakeRake refers to the angle of an F1 car when viewed side on. A high-rake car is created by raising... There's more..., toe, camberCamber refers to the fall from the outside of the track to the inside through the corner. Camber is a... There's more... and castor can all be adjusted to fine-tune the car and gain those critical fractions of a second.

Safety

Safety is as important here as any other aspect of the sport. A wheel ripped from the car in a 300 kph impact is a potentially devastating missile threatening the lives of other drivers, marshalsMarshals, dressed in their distinctive orange overalls, have a number of roles but the majority are positioned around the circuit... There's more... and spectators. To combat this, the cars have two tethers within the wishbones, significantly reducing the chances of a wheel flying off. 

BrakesF1 car brakes are similar to normal road cars, only they are made with different materials and operate under considerably... There's more...

F1 cars use carbon fibreCarbon fibre is used to construct F1 cars as it has the highest strength and stiffness per density than metal... There's more... brakes on all four wheels that don’t begin to work effectively until they reach 400 degrees C and are optimal around 1000 degrees C. To keep weight at a minimum, there is no mechanical cooling so F1 cars must move forward to push air through the brake ductsF1 cars use carbon brake discs and pads that operate between 200 degrees and 1,000 degrees (Celcius).  To ensure the... There's more.... When stopped, you will see cooling fansThe fans are the life-blood of F1, without us the sport wouldn't be what it is today.  From the 300,000... There's more... placed on each hub and in very hot climates, dry iceTeams use cooling fans to keep all aspects of the car cool, from the engine to the brakes and the... There's more... is added.

The brakes on an F1 machine will slow the car rapidly from 315 kph to 80 kph with the braking pointThe breaking point is the precise location where the driver hits the brakes hard to reduce the speed of the... There's more... less than 50 meters from where the driver initiates the corner. Experienced drivers from F2A second-tier single-seater, open wheeler series run by the FIA as a feeder category to assist developing drivers gain experience... There's more... or IndycarIndyCar is the elite US-based open-wheel class. The Indy grid runs the same chassis and aerodynamic kit, with power coming... There's more... are often surprised by how late they can brake at such high speeds. But, get this wrong, and the car could understeer, lock up or crash, costing valuable time.

Contact Patch

ContactWhere two or more cars come together. Due to the speed and delicate construction of F1 cars, most contact will... There's more... patch size is incredibly important in F1. The size of a contact patch is the area of the tire physically contacting the track. The larger the contact patch, the more grip the car will have, which is affected by the tyre pressure. As tread decreases the size of contact patches, a slick tyre is the most effective. 

 

SlicksSlicks were introduced in the 60's but banned in 1997, to reduce cornering speeds, and reintroduced in 2009. Slick tyres... There's more... are completely ineffective when there is water present, so tread is used in the form of Intermediates (i and Full Wets. These tyres will move 30 and 60 litres of water per second respectively so a set of four will shift a whopping 120 and 240 litres respectively. The team’s race engineerRace Engineers are a team of experts who manage all aspects of the race and communicate with the driver when... There's more... needs to judge when to make the change from one tread style to another very carefully as an extra pitstop is costly.

Compounds

The compound is a reference to the rubber that the tyre’s wearing surface is constructed from. Pirelli has developed a suite of compounds from C0 (hardest) to C5 (softest), from which they select three for each race weekend. Referred to as Hard, Medium and Soft, the tyres have different performance characteristics. The soft will be the fastest, but it will not last as long, whereas, the hard will have longevity but a second a lap slower. 

The selection is based on factors such as track surface, track temperature, speeds, corners and number of pitstops targeted

The compounds are designed to degrade at different rates, and the shredded rubber can be seen accumulating off the racing lineThe racing line is the line a racing driver follows to take corners in the fastest possible way. By using the... There's more....

Tyre Allocation

Teams are provided with an allocation of 13 sets of dry weather tyres for the weekend – two set of hard tyresHard Tyres, or Hards, are identified by their white sidewalls and one of three compounds available for each race. The... There's more..., three sets of medium tyresMedium Tyres, or mediums, are identified by their yellow sidewalls and are one of three compounds available for each race.... There's more... and eight sets of soft tyresSoft Tyres, or Softs, are identified by their red sidewalls and are one of three compounds available for each race.... There's more.... They also receive three sets of intermediate tyresIntermediate Tyres (Inters) are the cross-over tyre between slick for a dry track and wets where there is standing water.... There's more... and four sets of wets. If FP1Free Practice consists of three sessions (FP1, FP2 & FP3) held prior to qualifying. It is referred to as 'free... There's more... and FP2Free Practice consists of three sessions (FP1, FP2 & FP3) held prior to qualifying. It is referred to as 'free... There's more... are wet and FP3Free Practice consists of three sessions (FP1, FP2 & FP3) held prior to qualifying. It is referred to as 'free... There's more... looks like it will be wet, then the teams may return a set of slicks and take an extra set of interest.

Pitstop

In a pitstop, all four tyres are replaced in a little over 2 seconds but the total time lost is around 20 seconds due to the reduced speed in the pit laneThe Pit lane is a 3.5m wide access lane that runs parallel to the race track that the cars use... There's more... (generally 80kph).

In the Window

Looking after the tyres is a critical part of a driver’s racecraft. If the tyre is not hot enough, there is a lack of grip, and if they are overhead, they will deteriorate too quickly.

The cars have sensors that measure the tyre’s temperature in several locations. Under current regulations, tyres are preheated using tyre warmersTyre warmers, or tyre blankets, are used to pre-heat the tyre before it is put onto the car. Tyres need... There's more..., and then the driver will drive in a certain manner to induce additional heat. It is easier to heat the rear wheels, using power from the PU, than it is to heat the fronts, as they can’t be spun up. 

When the tyres are at their best, they are considered to be “in the window”. 

Tyre Management

As the tyre age builds, you will hear drivers tell their engineers that the grip is dropping off and the car is starting to slide. Pundits will note the tyre is blisteringCaused by the tire overheating where the rubber softens and delaminates from the body of the tire, ultimately leading to... There's more... or grainingGraining occurs when strips of rubber are torn from a tyre and then immediately stick back onto the hot surface... There's more..., contributing to its decline in performance.

The call to come in for fresh tyres is BoxThe term Box comes from the German Boxenstopp, meaning pit stop and is used as a reference to the service... There's more... or Box, Box.

Pit stop strategy is complex and needs to be flexible to changing conditions throughout the race. Faster tyres over shorter distances or an undercutThe undercut is where you gain an advantage on the driver ahead by pitting before him and then maximising your... There's more... may be the ‘secret sauce’ to get the car to the finish line first…

Logistics

As part of Pirelli’s ‘green technology’ programme for the betterment of the environment, the tyres are ‘ecologically disposed of’, which means they are recycled. The tyres are crushed to fit more of them in fewer containers and then shipped to a cement factoryEach team has a home base where the factory is typically based. From there teams of talented people, design, model... There's more... near Didcot, Oxfordshire after each Grand PrixA Grand Prix is a motorsport series sanctioned by the FIA and held in various countries for a world title.... There's more....