USA GP tyres

[synvex]

I noted with yesterday's GP in the USA, the Mercedes cars used on both cars only the softer [yellow] compound in the race, whereas Ferrari put the harder tyre [white] on Vettel's car and according to the commentators it is also a given that all cars must use both compounds during the race. Please enlighten me............

[dans79]

That rule only applies when it's a dry race, if they start under wet conditions they can use any tires they want.

[SiLo]

As above, essentially this is because if the entire race is wet, they have to race on the wet tyre realistically, so enforcing a tyre change is unsafe.

If the races dries out and they put on slicks, that counts as the second compound as it differs from the first.

[rjsa]

Vettel went for the primes (primes are the harder tyres from the weekend selection, in this case the medium whites) as a gamble. He thought he could do with one less stop and use it to his advantage. It failed and he moved back into options (the softer ones, the yellow softs) for the last stint - after having lost some time running on the harder compound.

The prime/option naming is used to avoid the confusion of harder/softer with HARD/medium/SOFT/Super SOFT.

[giantfan10]

Vettel went for the primes (primes are the harder tyres from the weekend selection, in this case the medium whites) as a gamble. He thought he could do with one less stop and use it to his advantage. It failed and he moved back into options (the softer ones, the yellow softs) for the last stint - after having lost some time running on the harder compound.

The prime/option naming is used to avoid the confusion of harder/softer with HARD/medium/SOFT/Super SOFT.

interesting choice of words calling Vettels strategy failed...... it was actually a smarter strategy then the Mercedes Teams strategy

here let me let vettel explain his failed strategy to you... from the after race press conference:
"Yeah, I think it was the right thing to do, given where we were, given that we wanted to make our chance last as long as possible and I think there was a chance definitely to do it. Obviously when the safety car came that was gone, because we’ve seen that with the option tyre everyone one of us was in the same boat with a lot of graining. First laps amazing and then the laps after that falling off quite dramatically. With a green track that’s what happens. So I think I had a good chance. Already after four or five laps on the medium tyre, six laps, I don’t know how much it was, I was doing more or less the same pace as the guys in front. A shame to lose out, but on the other hand in a race like this I think all three of us in a way at some point in the race we got lucky with timings"

[Sevach]

If you use either the green or blue banded wet tires that restriction goes out the window.

Anyway Vettel's call was a good one as long as there were no safety cars, with the VSC called Rosberg already came out a lot closer behind him than he would be on normal racing conditions, so that was it as far as winning, and once the SC was called it was better to press reset.

Hamilton was also rescued by the final SC, after not pitting at the VSC was Mercedes thinking of going to the end?

[rjsa]

Vettel went for the primes (primes are the harder tyres from the weekend selection, in this case the medium whites) as a gamble. He thought he could do with one less stop and use it to his advantage. It failed and he moved back into options (the softer ones, the yellow softs) for the last stint - after having lost some time running on the harder compound.

The prime/option naming is used to avoid the confusion of harder/softer with HARD/medium/SOFT/Super SOFT.

interesting choice of words calling Vettels strategy failed...... it was actually a smarter strategy then the Mercedes Teams strategy

here let me let vettel explain his failed strategy to you... from the after race press conference:
"Yeah, I think it was the right thing to do, given where we were, given that we wanted to make our chance last as long as possible and I think there was a chance definitely to do it. Obviously when the safety car came that was gone, because we’ve seen that with the option tyre everyone one of us was in the same boat with a lot of graining. First laps amazing and then the laps after that falling off quite dramatically. With a green track that’s what happens. So I think I had a good chance. Already after four or five laps on the medium tyre, six laps, I don’t know how much it was, I was doing more or less the same pace as the guys in front. A shame to lose out, but on the other hand in a race like this I think all three of us in a way at some point in the race we got lucky with timings"

Technically the gamble failed. He expected to finish the race on those tyres and he didn't. And while he was on track he was lapping slower than he would on the options. It didn't waste his race but didn't make it either, like it would if he managed without a safety car and an the last stop.

No liking or disliking of your preferred driver involved here, just plain observation of the facts.

[giantfan10]

Its not about liking or disliking any driver....i just dont think yoi calling his strategy a failure when it was the perfect strategy for him when he pitted.... no team was aware there was going to be 2 more safety cars after that point ... no more safety cars after that point and vettel would have had a very good shot at winning the race.... like he said though the entire podium got lucky at some point in the race as far as tires go

[rjsa]

Its not about liking or disliking any driver....i just dont think yoi calling his strategy a failure when it was the perfect strategy for him when he pitted.... no team was aware there was going to be 2 more safety cars after that point ... no more safety cars after that point and vettel would have had a very good shot at winning the race.... like he said though the entire podium got lucky at some point in the race as far as tires go

I said the gamble failed. As it indeed did. He bet he would go all the way and he didn't. And he did a stint on mediums, that did not ruined his but surely didn't help his pace. That's all.

[giantfan10]

Its not about liking or disliking any driver....i just dont think yoi calling his strategy a failure when it was the perfect strategy for him when he pitted.... no team was aware there was going to be 2 more safety cars after that point ... no more safety cars after that point and vettel would have had a very good shot at winning the race.... like he said though the entire podium got lucky at some point in the race as far as tires go

I said the gamble failed. As it indeed did. He bet he would go all the way and he didn't. And he did a stint on mediums, that did not ruined his but surely didn't help his pace. That's all.

If you read what he said the mediums were matching the the softs after about 5 laps...no more safty cars and my guess is he would have been catching the front runners at a healthy clip with them having a second stop and vettel not needing one......so Rosberg also had a failed strategy because he finished second? Failed should be nowhere in the equation when i driver starts 13th and ends up on the podium pretty much making the engine change a non factor

[rjsa]

I didn't write nothing of the above. We are not talking about the same thing. I give up.

[giantfan10]

I didn't write nothing of the above. We are not talking about the same thing. I give up.

i accept your surrender