Flat spot

[Marbot]

Just read RB's comments about tyres at www.crash.net and it got me thinking that as he says if a driver flat spotted his tyre let say at the run down to turn one at the start of a race, he is then going to be stuffed for the rest of the race,he won't be allowed to change that tyre unless it's punctured so how will a driver in that situation go about getting himself a deflated tyre,the prospect of limping around in a "boneshaker"for 2 hours can't be a good one.

[Rich R]

maybe drivers will be tiptoeing their way through the first corners this year then, and will this also be counter-productive to overtaking, not wanting to risk your precious tyres because they have to last, eg, 20 more laps.

[Dog Faced Boy]

I'm thinking that the new rules will play into the hands of drivers who are naturally smooth. So as a Button fan I am mightily chuffed.
I also think some teams are going to struggle severely if they don't design a tyre friendly chassis, you may as well kiss goodbye to the season. This could seriously affect more than one of the lower teams with less cultured chassis
I also think that Ferrari are going to have to do a monsterous amount of testing to get their tyres to beat michelin who will have far more data to proccess with so many teams.
The one tyre rule should add an extra dimension to the race as there will be pass and counter pass as tyres wear at different rates on different cars and drivers make small mistakes.
I think this rule also takes away alot of areas Mickey the Schu was good at i.e attacking the limits before pitstops and speed limit lines. The damage to his tyres would be too great.

[Rich R]

yes i do agree that the new tyre rules should favour button's smooth driving style, but don't rule out schumacher yet, he is a very adaptable driver after all.

[Dog Faced Boy]

Never a truer word spoken but there is a glimmer of hope that you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

[Adam43]

The advantage Schumacher has here is that he can change his driving style throughout a race. He was very good at hussling a car when the tyres went through there grainy patch. Something Button suffered from - he was still smooth and it took ages to get the tyres through this period of poor performance. Mark Hughes did a decent piece on driving styles a few months back in Autosport.

Next year's tyres might not be like that, who knows, but being adaptable is the key. Always agressive will be a bad thing, but also always smooth, oddly, has disadvantages too.

[Dog Faced Boy]

I think the tyres are likely to not have graining and bad phases like last years.
If you go back to when tyres lasted the distance they seemed to have 3 distinct stages with stage one being short. They would get the tyre up to temperature which would take a couple of laps followed by a period of peak performance before a gradual loss of grip, similar to bike racing really. I would expect something similar though with advanced technology the firt phase should be alot shorter than 2 laps.

[Adam43]

Tyres having to last the entire distance, that was a long time ago - and they weren't grooved then either. I think there is no way of knowing (other than working for one of the tyre companies, or one of the teams).

[Kirk]

If this were truly an issue, it would be counter productive as inevitably it would deter aggression, hence lead to less overtaking. However, the tyres being the harder compounds, I imagine it would take quite a large skid to cause a flat spot, hence I don't think this will be a problem for most teams. At least I hope not; as I've stated before, I hate the idea of a driver nursing a car home in F1 (because the rules basically dictate that he do so).

[Dog Faced Boy]

Has anything concrete been set about the wearing down of the grooves?
Or are we in murky technical waters come march.

[Sodemo]

I think we could very well see a few "B" chassis by France as if the cars aren't kind to the tyres the teams will need to make extensive modifications to the chassis and suspension layout.

[mac]

I think the one-tyre rule could possibly be the most counter-productive measure of the new rules package in terms of Bernie and Max's desire to see more racing at Grands Prix.

[Marbot]

I was wondering what the penalty would be for a driver coming into the pits and changing the tyre and also refuelling at the same time(neither of which are allowed under the new rules)it may be less than having to circulate with a flat spotted tyre,any ideas?
And also would the teams have any means of deflating a tyre that had become flat spotted?,technology in f1 seems to have no bounds(or morals).

[Kirk]

Good point martyn. I assume the penalty would not be too severe, to allow teams to make such decisions especially if they run into a tyre situation early on in a race. A decision that could gain a few points otherwise lost.

[Marbot]

What would the penalty be if a pit crew member punctured the tyre before putting on the new one,it says in the regs the tyre can be changed if punctured or damaged.If all four were punctured as the driver drove across a row of spikes as he entered his pit box he could then have the use of his previous set of tyres...oohh the endless possibilities.

[DKGandBH]

What is the definition of "Damaged"

I would think that a flat spot is "Damage" to a F1 tyre...

DKGandBH

[avsfan733]

martyn i assume that someone will try somethign like that and cause a row much like minardi did when they first pitted instead of qualifying under the new rules.

i gotta second DKG though on that question a flat spot to me is a damaged tyre when its goign 200mph

[Dog Faced Boy]

Originally Posted by martyn bott

changing the tyre and also refuelling at the same time(neither of which are allowed under the new rules)

Do I see this right. Refueling is banned aswell!!!
Surely it is complete madness to get rid of pitstops altogether, a race would be a process of everyone just gradually spreading out. How boring is that.

[Raglanparade]

Refuelling is not banned.

You simply cannot change tyres and refuel in the same stop anymore.

[Dog Faced Boy]

thank god. cheers for clearing that up

[RWC]

This is VERY valid subject-well spotted martyn

Just as i was reading through the replies so far i started thinking along the lines of your last post
I bet it won't be long before ferrari (as they are the team that allways seems to be first to 'stretch' the rules) start placing strategic nails in the track for their drivers to aim for if needed

[Raglanparade]

Better still, Ross Brawn and Jean Todt are lined up on the pit wall with a shotgun.

You would have to have those specially designed bullets that slowly deflate the tyre over 3-4kms though, to avoid a Nigel Mansell style tyre blowout.

Say if a tyre becomes flat, and does need to be replaced. There is 20 laps to go. Do the teams put a 2005 spec tyre designed to last a full 300km, or do they put a 2004 spec tyre designed to last 90-100kms of racing.

The penalty in 2005 is that if the teams need to replace a tyre, they are forced to do an extra pit stop.

The argument remains, if tyres are replaced mid race, are they the same hard compound, or a softer compound that will only last the remainder of the race

[Marbot]

The tyres that can be put on if one becomes punctured are the ones they chose during the practise sessions on the Friday,they use 2 sets so a replacement will come from the first set used prior to qually,so they will be exactly the same.How this first set is used is entirely up to the teams,you don't want to wear these out if you may have to replace a tyre during the race.

[Raglanparade]

Indeed.

What happens if you puncture your practice set, and then Puncture your race set ?

Maybe the tyres might have a "fast' window

From laps 5-30

Maybe Practice tyres might be kept in that window ...

the endless possibilties.

[RWC]

Just read a comment by ruhbins about the news cars.
he mentions that a flat spot is a potentially very serious problem,especially at places like monza
http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpa...s_art_id=23246

So it sounds like flat spotted tyres definitely don't count as 'damaged'