astracrazy wrote:Brawn thinks teams will use the soft tyre in q3. does anyone really think that? if the drop off so early in the race its pointless? surely it would be best to use the soft tyre as late as possible in the race? low fuel, better track.
Believe it or not when the cars are heavy with fuel is when they're at their most gentle on tires. Cornering speeds are slower, braking is longer, acceleration is slower, all the things that wear the tires prematurely get toned down. When the car is on low fuel it actually wears the tires quicker because the potential of the car increases. Now if you have a light car late in the race and you've done two stops for primes and say 6-7 laps to go as a midfield car in second or third place, then yes it's your only option to stay in the points to push.
After seeing the data, no one is going to want to race on the soft tire as it gains over a second for three or four laps, then it starts losing time, and by the 12th lap it's already slower than a comparably worn medium tire.