How come there is no super wet weather tyres?

[bhallg2k]

it is only when things are wet and messy that the mid field drivers will be given a shot on the podium. And for me, that is what will make F1 more interesting instead of having rules that only protect the interest of the fortunate few who are driving for the top teams.

It's not about protecting anything other than drivers, crew and equipment from danger.

They still race in the rain. The racing only stops when there's simply too much of it.

If one wants to be flippant about it, let's say this: when a driver like Markus Winkelhock leads a grand prix, it's probably too wet for a grand prix.

[Lycoming]

I think a super wet weather tire would be called a 'hull'!

Hehehe...

Couldn't resist.

If one wants to be flippant about it, let's say this: when a driver like Markus Winkelhock leads a grand prix, it's probably too wet for a grand prix.

Sums up what I've been saying all along.

[Pup]

I think a super wet weather tire would be called a 'hull'!

Like this?

[jdlive]

Yesterdays qualifying at Hockenheim proved what I already thought: the wetter it is, the more spectacle and the MORE driving skill required. Not less driving skill required as was said here by some people.

These cars are driveable in every weather condition, it just takes more skill, which Alonso and Vettel yesterday proved they have a lot more of than the others.

[beelsebob]

Yesterdays qualifying at Hockenheim proved what I already thought: the wetter it is, the more spectacle and the MORE driving skill required. Not less driving skill required as was said here by some people.

These cars are driveable in every weather condition, it just takes more skill, which Alonso and Vettel yesterday proved they have a lot more of than the others.

Anyway, I'll bite – Hockenheim and Silverstone together proved that actually, in the wet what matters is who's car works best in the current conditions. Going by Silverstone Hamilton is massively better than everyone in the wet; going by hockenheim, he's much worse than the other top drivers in the wet. i.e. it's not (all) driver making the difference here – it's car setup.

[jdlive]

Yesterdays qualifying at Hockenheim proved what I already thought: the wetter it is, the more spectacle and the MORE driving skill required. Not less driving skill required as was said here by some people.

These cars are driveable in every weather condition, it just takes more skill, which Alonso and Vettel yesterday proved they have a lot more of than the others.

Anyway, I'll bite – Hockenheim and Silverstone together proved that actually, in the wet what matters is who's car works best in the current conditions. Going by Silverstone Hamilton is massively better than everyone in the wet; going by hockenheim, he's much worse than the other top drivers in the wet. i.e. it's not (all) driver making the difference here – it's car setup.

Aren't you one the guys who said it's "undriveable" in such conditions? I can see why you'd say that if Lewis gets put on the spot by even (still a lot more skilled) old Schumi.

[bhallg2k]

What he's saying is that teams have to set up their cars for the conditions they anticipate during the race. Hamilton looked great in the wet at Silverstone, because the race was predicted to be wet, and McLaren had their cars set up accordingly. Hockenheim, however, was predicted to be a dry race. So, teams had to set up their cars for a dry race even though that meant they had to qualify in wet weather with dry setups. In those cases, a driver's form was dictated much more by setup rather than skill.

While it's true an F1 car can be set up to run in most any type of weather, the question is why bother giving a car the flexibility to run in extremely wet weather when such weather is relatively rare and when such flexibility would inherently limit other areas performance that are more routinely accessed throughout the course of any given year?

[fiohaa]

They still race in the rain. The racing only stops when there's simply too much of it.

If one wants to be flippant about it, let's say this: when a driver like Markus Winkelhock leads a grand prix, it's probably too wet for a grand prix.

except they don't race in the rain.
When the weather requires full wets, they ALWAYS start behind the safety car, until its dry enough for intermediates.
Its an absolute JOKE.

And yet, they run full wets in qualifying, because they have to do the session and can't delay it.

Full wet racing is absolutely awesome, both for the spectator and for the race in general, but, nope, can't have good racing can we? Can't run the risk of any damage to the cars because the sponsors who pay for those cars won't be happy.

I remember the days when racing with full wets was absolutely fine...and it wasn't that long ago.

What a farce of a motorsport category f1 is now.

I can also add that I was there, sat at the last corner during both quali and race.
Watching them squirming around in Q3, balancing the throttle, wheelspinning in 4th gear accelerating out that last corner, I can tell you that it obviously isn't Just about setup. It was actually spectacular.

Skill obviously plays a big part when the rain comes, much more than the dry.

[jdlive]

EXACTLY.

It's no coincidence the guys with the most WC titles were 1,2 and 3 Saturday. They have the most WC titles because they are the best 3 drivers of the last 20 years.

These cars stickto the ground so much that dry driving really is a non-indicator of skill and all-indicator of how good the car itself is. It's in the wet the truly skilled drivers start to shine and the more mediocre or bad ones start suffering. No chance to compensate with a better car then.

[Jersey Tom]

I remember the days when racing with full wets was absolutely fine...and it wasn't that long ago.

Find me or list an event that was an absolute downpour and had legitimately good racing. Not a random cluster F with cars spinning off, but a good race. One where full monsoon tires were used the whole or majority of the going. The list is awfully small if not non-existent.

Races where you're on inters in light to medium wet conditions and/or drying... that makes for some GOOD stuff with strategy and skill. A complete wash out where cars are going to be undriveable? No thanks.

[Cam]

To draw a line from WRC, they design a car that can have enough adjustments to run in just about any conditions, tarmac, dust gravel, snow, ice, rain etc. An F1 car could actually run in any conditions, if it is designed to do so. So we're at the point of do we want to or not. So it comes down to whether a race would be worth watching in those conditions or not - taken that the cars can be designed to run.

With a race now limited to 4 hours, I see no reason why they can't trundle around. To know you've won a race under simply to most atrocious conditions would certainly be rewarding. Senna was called the rain master, who has that title now? We'll never know unless we let them battle it out.

[CHT]

Hate to bring this thread up again.

I really think the tire companies really need to come out with a much better wet tire than what we see today.
Today's rain is not exactly very heavy, but the car are just sliding everywhere.

[Nando]

It´s not the tires that is the problem. The tires are probably too good for the job causing problems with visibility.

Better to disable Parc Ferme and let the teams raise the ride height of the cars instead.

[CHT]

It´s not the tires that is the problem. The tires are probably too good for the job causing problems with visibility.

Better to disable Parc Ferme and let the teams raise the ride height of the cars instead.

I thought they were struggling to get the heat on the tires.

[wesley123]

I remember the days when racing with full wets was absolutely fine...and it wasn't that long ago.

Find me or list an event that was an absolute downpour and had legitimately good racing. Not a random cluster F with cars spinning off, but a good race. One where full monsoon tires were used the whole or majority of the going. The list is awfully small if not non-existent.

Races where you're on inters in light to medium wet conditions and/or drying... that makes for some GOOD stuff with strategy and skill. A complete wash out where cars are going to be undriveable? No thanks.

Fuji 2007 was pretty fun, also GB 2008 was a pretty good race