Is Pirelli get rubbered out?
19 April 2013 I get confused by those who continually moan about the rules and regulations of Formula 1? The rules are agreed by the teams, the Federation, the Technical working Group and who knows, perhaps even the Pope. It seems that TOO much entertainment it a problem now ? Some of the old farts can’t catch up n their Sunday afternoon nap now because you can’t just watch the start and the finish of the race anymore. You have to watch the whole thing because it is so damn exciting!
Nothing in life is perfect and the same is true about F1. There are things that can be tweaked in Formula 1 at the moment however there are many many things to think about when changes are made or discussed to be made.
Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport. It is the epitome of perfection and much of the technology used in F1 gravitates down into the use of our daily vehicles. With this in mind, let’s look forward and not backwards. If you like or want retro racing then I suggest go to the many Historic race weekends around the world and enjoy the world that was. I love watching historic cars but mainly t see how things have progressed from then until today. Today’s F1 is brilliant and should be embraced. But, it is not perfect.
Let me talk about the introduction of DRS and Pirelli’s re-introduction back into F1 recently. Pirelli were mandated to make a tyre that would wear out quicker than those made by Bridgestone. As a company, I am sure that Pirelli thought long and hard about the challenge. Do they try and help make formula 1 more entertaining or do they for the corporate route and ensure that their name is synonymous with quality and durability? They accepted the riskier challenge and it has been admirable and brilliant for the sport. Of course, it is not perfect but they have done what has been asked of them. If you look back at the Chinese GP this year, we had a myriad of tyre strategies and a lot of pit stops. This added to the tension and excitement and the result was another great race. There was one problem I had with the race though and the tyres. The Pirelli choices for the race were the soft and medium compounds. Now, had the weather been the same as in 2012, we would have seen the soft tyre lasting a lot longer than 5 laps. The weather had a factor. Had Pirelli given us the medium and hard compound tyres for the race, I can guarantee you that we would have had a one stop race and it would have been processional. You cannot blame Pirelli for the weather but I do think they need to perhaps change the compound slightly so that the soft tyre does last longer regardless of the weather conditions. Pirelli have said they will re-look at the tyre compounds once they get back to Europe. I beg Pirelli to remain aggressive for the remainder of the season. Since their return to F1 we have seen some of the most incredible racing and races in recent memory. Well done to them.
The DRS (Drag reduction system) is in simple terms and open flap for the following car to deploy which reduces the drag and allows for easier overtaking. This system may only be deployed in certain designated areas of the circuit as specified by the FIA. In China we had two DRS zones. The Chinese Shanghai circuit has a massively long back straight. It is actually too long. I say this because the car set-up for this track doesn’t allow an F1 car to just reduce wing and to go as fast as possible. The tricky corners in Shanghai means there has to be quite a big compromise between straight line speed and cornering ability. What happens is that most of the cars are on the rev limiter as they go down that straight. The DRS helps significantly on that part of the track. If you noticed, most overtakes on that straight are done right at the activation zone and not at the end of the straight purely because of the cars being at their limit. The second DRS zone is down the main straight and if you get a food exit out of the last corner then you can gain back the position you lost on the back straight. Thrilling stuff in my opinion.
With a few tweaks here and here , I really don’t have a problem with the way things are at present.
I do fear that if Pirelli keep getting knocked for doing their job, they might withdraw and we will have a Korean tyre coming in to F1; that is if there is still Korea. |
