Pirelli rubber in 2013

[Chuckjr]

It seems in most every car testing thread here, there is a pattern emerging....that being, the 2013 tires look absolutely FUBAR when the driver comes back from a set of laps. Some of the shots of the inside rubber on the rear tires looks like ...

In addition, I keep reading posted quotes from drivers and team members (posted throughout the threads) making comments about the tires actually falling off even quicker than last year - and last year the tires were a cliff!!

My question is this: is the 2013 rubber formulae locked? -- Meaning, once Pirelli decides on a compound for the year, it really will not deviate much from that recipe other than a few 2-3% chemical tweaks here and there with the rubber constituents, but overall, the tires are what they are, and teams will just have to suck it up and deal with it?

[TzeiTzei]

The teams will learn to handle the tyres, just like they have learned in past. Every winter we get this same panic about the disintegrating tyres. I'm not a great fan of the pirellis, because imo they are too fragile. Last year thermal deg was absolutely awful + the tyres tend to slow way too much as they wear --> we dont often see drivers on different strategies because the driver on old rubber is totally defenceless against those who pit more times.

[bhall]

Sergio Perez was quoted yesterday in Autosport as saying he believed current levels of tire degradation would result in seven to 10 (!) pit stops. If that's true (doubtful), a team that can make its tires last three to four laps longer than the competition can fight for wins even if their car's all-out pace is 0.6 seconds/lap slower than the frontrunners (assuming a 58-lap race and a 20-second pitlane delta).

Also, where are teams going to get seven to 10 pit stops' worth of tires? Are they going to have to double-stint tires from the opening laps during the closing laps?

[Rikhart]

That has already been disproved though, since most race sims today did 3/4 stops, and this was on an actual race track. So unless pirelli bring tyres that are way too soft over both compounds to a particular race, the "10 pit stops" wont ever happen. What will happen however, is a track completely filled with huge tyre chunks, and that might indeed be a problem...

[Absolutelee]

I understand what Pirelli are doing, I just wish that instead of degrading faster and falling apart and eventually you make the call when to switch, they would only degrade like 5% over the first 10 laps or so then fall really dramatically. That way (at least in my head) the drivers could be aggressive the whole stint, then call the cliff and pit.

Edit: I have NO clue if this is even possible...

[Shrieker]

I don't want those tyre shreds all around. They take away from racing. I've been crying last season that Pirelli had to fix this, it seems now though they've made it a lot worse

[dren]

Pirelli stated they were going to make the degredation worse but widen the operating range. These tires will also work much better when they are used in warmer climates. I expect maybe one extra pit stop compared to last year, if at all.

[raymondu999]

Are they going to have to double-stint tires from the opening laps during the closing laps?

If they double-stinted the tyres then that defeats the purpose of pitting that early in the first place. You'd have just gone for a 5-stop. Inters perhaps?

[strad]

I don't want those tyre shreds all around. They take away from racing.

I could not agree more. =D>

[Cam]

I don't agree with the tyre situation, never have, never will. It only results in a couple of weird results before the cream rises again through out resourcing on tyre development. Which is damn shame for the Saubers of this world - who truly innovate and push the tech boundaries of the car only to be defeated in the end by the very system implemented to help them get early wins.

[Chuckjr]

Isn't there a way to have reasonable tire degradation without all these tire chunks laying around the most critical corners?? Seriously. By lap 35 or 40 there is a V E R Y C L E A R racing line and if you (as a driver) try and pass on the outside or inside your lap is absolutely ruined and 2-3 more laps thereafter as you try and remove the chunks.

I would have thought in todays technologically advanced understanding of all things chemical (which these tires basically are--an advanced chemical process with very little actual rubber used) they could develop tire degration measures without leaving tons of tire crap all around the track making passing a hopeless endeavor.

Guys like Hammy, Alonso, and Rik who can actually pass anywhere on the track at most any time have zero chance with this situation. I really hope the teams can straighten this out before Oz or its going to be worse than last year. Some of the tire shots in the last few testing sessions reveal rears that look more like ground beef than a tire.

[Cam]

I doubt you can have a tyre, which is designed to fail, to not pollute the track, while it's failing.

[Hail22]

I doubt you can have a tyre, which is designed to fail, to not pollute the track, while it's failing.

I concur, and it makes it almost impossible to overtake due to the amount of marbles that "may" be discharged...I hope we don't see this :/

[Pierce89]

You people do realize that non-DRS overtakes from the last two seasons dwarf the overtaking numbers for the late 2000's era don't you? So even without the DRS system the Prelli tires have greatly increased overtaking.The best drivers can still go very fast while looking after their tires.

[Chuckjr]

It seems, for the most part, that the old skool guys want the old times when you slapped on a set and that was it--go balls out the whole race and may the best man win. In my experience tho, this often leads to processional racing since the cars are so much more equal now in terms of performance compared to the old times. Differences are measured by the microsecond rather than the second, for the most part.

On the other hand is the newer skool watchers of F1 who have the attention span of a nat, and want constant overtaking and more coin flip chance brought into the equation. F1, unfortunately or fortunately, has become more about entertainment - both have their positive and negative aspects. Clearly, this is currently happening and has been for a while now. Since the cars are so equal, could it be that if they went to the old style, and used one or maybe two sets per race we would see a dramatic increase of the processional type racing, and therefore, a considerably less dramatic show for those that only follow F1 on Sunday from noon to 2pm? If we lost all those viewers it may mean dramatic shifts in coverage, and possibly a loss of the sport entirely since all that seems to matter anymore is money. Sigh.

Certainly, for the lovers of the sport like you and me, we want simply the best driver and the best car to combine to win and not have chance/luck play such a powerful role in the outcome of a race. But, I think it can be said even with the severely degrading tire rate of the last few years, that indeed the best chassis is consistently winning the race (Red Bull) and the championship. Unfortunately, Newey is arguably the best aero guy on the planet, and his influence is single handedly continuing to make a huge mark on the F1 historical record.

I'm not sure we can have both--few tire changes (and therefore fewer marbles) but lots of overtaking action. Maybe, and I hope, I am wrong in that thought. The dependance on aero rather than mechanical grip may have forced the game into the reality it is now...forced chance and luck brought in from an uncontrollable (by the teams anyway) force led by Bernie - who really is only in it for the money it seems, not a true love for the sport.