Tag Archives: slicks

Apr201019

Rob

0

Button calls the tyres and does it again

Jenson Button became the first driver in 2010 to win for a second time as he beat Lewis Hamilton home for a McLaren 1-2. Button stayed near the sharp end at the start and then stayed out on slicks when most of the other top drivers pitted for intermediates, this put him out front with Nico Rosberg, as Rosberg started to struggle Button closed up and took the lead he wouldn’t surrender for the rest of the race. As the drivers on inters started to put the times in that would catch the leaders their tyres went and they had to pit again and so those at the front enjoyed about a 50s lead.
With the race order set for a while those who had stopped started to carve their way through the middle order, Lewis Hamilton showed his skill at overtaking during this phase and by the time the second [...]

Feb201014

Rob

0

What’s with all these long runs in the F1 tests? It’s all down to the tyres.

The first two Formula 1 pre-season tests seem have included more long runs than in previous years, but why? I’d say that it’s down to the refueling rule changes for the 2010 season as well as some of the technical regulations around the size of the tyres.
Last year with the re-introduction of slick tyres the teams kept the same size tyres that they had in the grooved days this meant that proportionally the front tyres gained more grip. This was because both front and rear had four grooves that were now part of the contact patch, with the rear tyre being wider it meant that the four grooves worth of grip supplied was less in percentage terms than returning the four grooves to the front. This change upset the balance of the car with the front now being more grippy than the rear. The 2010 regulations revert this balance by [...]

Jan201013

Rob

0

Round up of 2009

So last year was eventful in F1, from scandal off track to fairytale on track. Brawn GP went from nearly closing to winning the World Championship in their first year, with some amazing victories along the way to prove that anything is indeed possible in F1.
What happened
Jenson Button took the world title, Brawn clinched the constructors title (I wonder if Honda still think they made the best call…), Ferrari lost all their form and we found out that they’re really hard to drive, McLaren made some big mistakes and Lewis Hamilton learnt some humility, we found out that Michael Schumacher might not be gone for good, that Japanese drivers do make for exciting racing and that Fernando Alonso can climb above any scandal.
Jenson Button started the season with a clean sweep which ultimately was the reason that he clinched the title, Rubens Barrichello followed Jenson home to start the season [...]