Pirelli Tyres in 2011

[McZiderRed]

Now that Formula One has waved goodbye to Bridgestone and welcomed Pirelli with open tyre warmers, how will the this year's cars react to the tyres..?

What will be the likely outcome in terms of durability? Which teams/drivers are likely to 'warm' to the Italian companies rubber compounds? How will KERS and the adjustable rear-wing affect them? These are just a few of the unanswered questions on people's lips...

To give us a slight clue, a few websites have been paying attention:

According to this article, Nextgen Auto.com, has this

the marque’s research and development boss Maurizio Boiocci admitted that one unknown factor is how the tyres will be affected by the additional speed delivered by KERS and adjustable rear wings.

"If the speed came on gradually, for sure there would be no problems," he said. "But it remains to be seen what happens when all the power comes on suddenly."

Would KERS or the adjustable wing really make that much of a difference..?

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Pirelli test driver Pedro de la Rosa seems to think that Alonso and Hamilton will adapt best to the tyres, but doesn't think that the change in tyre company will present that big a problem to any of the drivers..

The main thrust of that web-page though, is that the colour of the lettering on the tyres will be different for each compound. That will give Martin or David something to tell us at the beginning of every race, then..

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When it comes to who the tyres will suit best, Auto sport has a different point.

On their web-page, Drivers set to get front-tyre boost, they says that Michael Schumacher has got his desire for an improved front tyre, which will be more to his liking and match his driving style. However, the article goes on to say that Pirelli have also improved the rear tyre, as well:

"We were asked to provide a slightly stronger front tyre, which is what we've done," Hembery told AUTOSPORT in Abu Dhabi. "In the process we maybe threw the rear out of balance, which is something that was noted during the test. But we've also improved that during the remaining tests that we've done."

Does this mean that the cars will not necessarily deliver the "pointy front end" that Michael is said to favour...?

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Finally, I also saw somewhere that Pirelli were looking to make their tyres less durable, with the aim being that as many races as possible would be at least a two-stopper. There was also talk of trying to get an agreement on some Friday tyre testing, as and if it's needed..
(Unfortunately, I can't remember where I saw this, so don't have a link).

I think this would generate some uncertainty as to when drivers will make their tyre stops, depending on how hard they've been on the tyre, so could be good..

What does everyone reckon? Is Michael in for a disappointment? Will Fernando & Lewis be the early winners?
What are your thoughts..?

 

[Galahad]

It's virtually impossible to make predictions based on the information that we've had to date. Pedro knows what he's talking about, so he's probably one of the few we can rely on. But I'm sure further changes will be made before Bahrain - and Pirelli still have the flexibility to decide which compounds to take with them.

Pirelli never had much trouble making their tyres less durable in the '80s...it was almost a speciality. But everyone is too professional these days for there to be any real surprises, I suspect.

New tyres always provide a handy excuse for anyone who's underperforming, so what the real situation is we might have to wait a long time to find out.

 

[McZiderRed]

According to Motorsport.com, Pedro de la Rosa is to stay as Pirelli test driver. Lotus have denied that Chandhok has been signed as their reserve driver. Karun was at Valencia as a Guest, Tony Fernandes said.

Motorsport.com also say that Pirelli are undecided whether they will differentiate between the different tyre compounds by using a different colour for each compound. Personally, I think the idea of different colours would be a good one. But then, it's not up to me though, is it..

Motorsport.com article

 

[MCLS]

As long as it isnt a full tyre colour, anyone imagine a Blue tyre!?

 

[McZiderRed]

As long as it isnt a full tyre colour, anyone imagine a Blue tyre!?

According to the Nextgen Auto.com link I posted in my original post above, it's the Pirelli P Zero words that would have the colouring:

"A report in the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat claims that each compound will have the words ’Pirelli P Zero’ painted in different colours on the sidewall.
The super-soft wording will reportedly be in red, the soft will be in white, the medium in blue and the hard in yellow.
Meanwhile, the sidewall colourings of the full wet tyre will be yellow, and the intermediates red."

 

[MCLS]

Best idea really,

 

[Galahad]

Will it be visible enough, as the tyre rotates, if it's only the wording?

As long as it isnt a full tyre colour, anyone imagine a Blue tyre!?

Personally I'd love to see it. But the sponsors would hate it, imagine the clashing combinations...

 

[DOF_power]

This will all be judged at the end of the season.
Till after a few races all this is just speculation.

 

[AlexM]

Will it be visible enough, as the tyre rotates, if it's only the wording?

I would have thought so, you can generally see an overlaying colour on a spinning object.

However.. rainbow coloured wheels would make for an interesting effect..

 

[dave]

I would have thought so, you can generally see an overlaying colour on a spinning object.

However.. rainbow coloured wheels would make for an interesting effect..

I woul dhave thought at the speed of the rotations the red wording would appear to be solid red, depending on the size of the woring in relation to the tire of course.

But if the red is being used for super soft and inters we should be able to work it out.

 

[teabagyokel]

I think its a very clever way to get everyone to pay attention to the word Pirelli on the tyres...!

 

[dave]

There is a good

I think its a very clever way to get everyone to pay attention to the word Pirelli on the tyres...!

There is a good chance it is.

And this is still only planned isn't it and might not happen?

It's still got us talking about Pirelli though so it's working

 

[teabagyokel]

It's still got us talking about Pirelli though so it's working

Damn right! The only people talking about them more than us are Burton Albion supprters!

As long as it isnt a full tyre colour, anyone imagine a Blue tyre!?

You see, that is the logical conclusion to this line of thought, and I for one welcome it!

 

[McZiderRed]

Pirelli F1 boss, Paul Hembury has defended Pirelli, after some drivers complained about the tyres used in the Valencia test.

Michael Shumacher: "Of the compounds available, some were more consistent than others,"
"I had some awkward moments on the track when I was on tyres that I had not been on for long. It was like driving on ice," admitted the seven time world champion.

Paul Hembury: "The tyres don’t like it too cold," he is quoted by Turun Sanomat, confirming that Pirelli will make some tweaks ahead of the next tests.
"Another thing we have to remember <is> that all tyres wear out, which is something some people seem to have forgotten in the last few days," he insisted.

Mentioning no names... Michael.

Taken from this article - Hembery defends Pirelli

Lets hope that Pirelli don't tweak the tyres too much...

 

[teabagyokel]

Oh, so he didn't like the Bridgestones and now he doesn't like the Pirellis.

This new world of same for everyone doesn't suit Michael, does it?

 

[fat jez]

I think its a very clever way to get everyone to pay attention to the word Pirelli on the tyres...!

If they want me to focus on the word "Pirelli," I'll take one of their calendars instead

 

[gethinceri]

If you focus on the word Pirelli on their calendars maybe you're better off buying a tyre?

 

[fat jez]

touche

 

[McZiderRed]

Pirelli have announced the 'prime' and 'option' tyre compounds that will be used in the first four races of the season.

The prime compound will be the "hard" tyre
The option compound will be the "soft" tyre

Pirelli announce tyre compounds for the first four races

I wonder if they'll go with the different colours for the Pirelli P Zero words...

 

[Josephiah]

"We were asked to provide a slightly stronger front tyre, which is what we've done," Hembery told AUTOSPORT in Abu Dhabi. "In the process we maybe threw the rear out of balance, which is something that was noted during the test. But we've also improved that during the remaining tests that we've done."

Does this mean that the cars will not necessarily deliver the "pointy front end" that Michael is said to favour...?

Here's a question, which is probably silly for many different reasons:
Given that the different varieties of tyre will give different characteristics of grip, wear and so on, would there ever be any benefit to mixing up the sets?

For example, say Hamilton wears out his rears quicker than his fronts, as we have seen before: would he gain any benefit from putting softer tyres at the front and harder ones at the rear? Or if Schumacher wants a pointier front end, could he put a grippier tyre on the front?

Practically, I expect the difference in the degradation rates would negate any possible benefits (especially given the "2-compound gap" between the available compounds at any given race), and in any case I assume mixing sets is outlawed by the rules. Just thinking aloud... or through my fingers... or something...

J