In Formula 1, everything has to be done quickly and well. Strategists must define and communicate changes in a matter of seconds while a race is underway, while mechanics must free the cars in less than three seconds in the pits, let alone the drivers, who drive the cars. at speeds above 200 kilometers per hour, and Tires have to do with all these aforementioned aspects.
Tires are part of the teams’ strategy, It is the work tool of mechanics and pilots and a whole science for engineers, so we will explain what’s up with tires in Formula 1.
What are Formula 1 tires made of?
The tires that we see in Formula 1 are made exclusively for this series, so they are high performance tires and even if you can take one home, there is no way you can install it in your car. Firstly, because of the dimensions of the tire itself and secondly, because they could not roll in a conventional car, because we reiterate, they are made for high performance (very crazy speeds).
These tires are manufactured for the most part by nylon and polyesterin addition to rubber, goat, sulfur and oil. All these components are compressed to make the tire material.
Among all these components, the presence of oil must be highlighted, since the more oil used, the softer the final composition of the tire.
The compounds used in Formula 1
Formula 1 has two types of compounds, one for a dry track and another for rain or a wet track, and in each case we have different categories.
In the case of the dry track compound, these tires are known as smooth and slick, and have six categories: C0, C1, C2, C3, C4 y C5, of which the C0 is the hardest component and C5 is the softest.that is, the one that is made with more oil.
According to the composition of the tires the performance is determined. The hardest take time to take temperature and therefore are the “slowest”, however, they are also the ones with the longest life span. On the other hand, the soft ones are the ones that take temperature faster and therefore the fastest, but its life cycle is short.
Here we give you a brief overview of dry compounds or slicks
- C0: Hard compound, very hard. It lasts a long time, but it takes a long time to take temperature
- C1: Hard compound and is ideal for tracks with high temperatures
- C2: It has a long duration and is good for high temperatures
- C3: It is the most balanced compound between life and performance
- C4: It has a short lifespan, but if you want to go fast, this is the option
- C5: It is the one with the least life time, but with this compound you can go super fast
The color of the tires
You may have noticed that car tires have a colored stripe. red, yellow or white (soft, medium and hard) and this is because in each race only three compounds are chosen between the classification of C0 to C5, depending on the weather and the type of track, and they are assigned a classification between soft, medium and hard.
For example, for the 2022 Mexican Grand Prix, the compounds C2, C3 and C4 were chosen, being a long track, with several braking, but with a warm climate, although not extreme heat. In this election, C2 was the hard compound (white band), C3 was the medium compound (yellow band) and C4 was the soft compound (red band).. Here are other examples.
- Mexico (warm climate): C2, C3 and C4
- Monaco (street circuit): C3, C4 and C5
- Bahrain (extreme temperatures): C1, C2 and C3
And what’s up with the rain compounds in Formula 1?
If you remember the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix, you will remember that that race started in the rain, so instead of using the C3, C4 and C5 compounds, sWet weather tires were noted.
- Intermediate: They have a green band and are ideal for light rain or when the track dries up
- Wet: It has a blue band and are used for downpours.
Tire performance and life
recap, the faster a tire warms up, the more grip and speed you get, but at the same time the consequence is a greater degree of degradation or decomposition (The tires get blisters and/or they leave little pieces of rubber on the track).
So the strategists debate in each race what type of tires to use in each race and the number of pit stops will depend on it.
So this, the tire part, is just a small part of Hanna Schmitz’s job at Red Bull to give Max Verstappen and Checo Pérez the best conditions.
