Mixing tires

[mnmracer]

Watching some of the feeder-races this weekend, it got me wondering, are drivers in Fomula One allowed to mix tires? Of course it wouldn't work with dry weather, because of 'use each tire'-rule, but in the wet, would they be allowed to:

1. drive with wets on the rear and intermediates on the front?
2. at a pitstop, change only the left tires and leave the right tires (of the same type) on?

[Jersey Tom]

drive with wets on the rear and intermediates on the front?

Legality aside, why would you want to? Mixing substantially different tires front to rear has big potential for throwing balance out the window in a general sense, with regard to wear, keeping heat in tires, etc... as opposed to having them all going at more similar rates.

In dry running it would be sensible though to use a different tire on one corner of the car if its fairly close - not the case anymore these days.

at a pitstop, change only the left tires and leave the right tires (of the same type) on?

[raymondu999]

Also, if you have equally-speedy pitstop mechanics, then you'd be wasting an opportunity to have more grip on the tyres you didn't change.

However, the tyres are labelled on as a set. you couldn't even use the left front of set 1 and the other 3 tyres of set 2, even if they were both brand new supersofts. They have to come from the same set.

[flynfrog]

Back in the old days when there was a tire war going on bridgestone inters would wear the tread off to a pretty soft slick. I remember Shu coming in for rears only a few times as the track was drying.

[raymondu999]

Even in 2010 the inters wore off to slicks. Schumacher changing rears only, I don't remember.

[flynfrog]

Even in 2010 the inters wore off to slicks. Schumacher changing rears only, I don't remember.

I seem to remember Kimi Doing it as well when he was in a red car.

[Nando]

nevermind, miss-understood the text

[Slife]

Well the tires are already kinda mixed because the front tires are skinnier than the rears.

[mike]

Even in 2010 the inters wore off to slicks. Schumacher changing rears only, I don't remember.

I seem to remember Kimi Doing it as well when he was in a red car.

rules didnt allow that when kimi was in the red car, it was china 2007 when his white line on the tyre wore off but rules said you need to use tyres from the same set. but in i think 2000 or something you can used mixed set for quali or maybe race heres a video of it

around 0:50 commentary

[ds.raikkonen]

rules didnt allow that when kimi was in the red car, it was china 2007 when his white line on the tyre wore off

He and Hamilton both stayed on the worn out intermediates in the 2007 Chinese GP. In 2006, Alonso, if I remember correctly, changed only the front intermediate tyres and suffered. Even after having a commanding 20sec lead, MSC caught him up and passed him.