2016 3 tire compound rules

[nevill3]

Hamilton cannot use his medium set of tyres at all until the race, so he could be at a disadvantage if the weather turns cool

[wuzak]

Hamilton cannot use his medium set of tyres at all until the race, so he could be at a disadvantage if the weather turns cool

I would think the mediums would be better if the weather turns hot.

[wuzak]

It appears that the q3 qualifiers have to hand one set of super-softs back (the one used solely for Q3). But those who don't get to hold onto theirs.

Could we see a Red Bull or Williams run a 3 stop on super-softs/softs?

[godlameroso]

Hamilton could use the mediums in practice, but he would still need them to be one of his 6 sets going into qualifying, so I can't see why he would use them at all during the weekend.

Those that have chosen 2 sets of medium are likely to use one set in FP1 and then discard them.

Manor had their's selected by Pirelli, as they did not respond in time.

It is unlikely that even the top teams would use the medium in qualifying this year, with the knockout system. They will be straight onto the super-softs and turn the engine up closer to the max than they normally would for Q1 and Q2. That is to ensure they go through in one lap.

I would expect that the top teams will take 3 sets of super-softs (+1 extra set if they make Q3), 2 sets of softs (which will be save for the race) and one set of mediums (mandatory - unlikely to be used in the race).

The strategy would be SS (8)-S (25)-S (25). Or slightly shorter on the first soft and longer on the second - maybe 23/27 laps.

Some teams may want to try for a 3 stopper. To do this they would take 4 SS into qualifying (+1 if they get to Q3), 1 set of softs (mandatory) and one set of mediums (manadtory).

Their stints would likely be SS (8)-SS (10)-SS (10)-S (30). Or possibly the last stint will be on Mediums, but I doubt it.

Some of the back-marker teams may try a one stopper - possibly softs (26) then mediums (32).

One thing I am not clear on - do the teams that don't make Q3 still get the extra set of super-softs, which they didn't last year.

Based on testing, in which numerous drivers complained about the tires not being as durable as last year's, I don't think the soft could do 25-30 laps. Probably more like 17 laps, I have a feeling the medium is better than people think.

[nevill3]

I would think the mediums would be better if the weather turns hot.

From what I understand, the two softer compounds suffer from graining in cooler temperatures, this was experienced during winter testing by several teams. So if the weather is on the cooler side the top running teams will be starting the race on a tyre that could lose performance for a few laps before "cleaning up" but with a limited amount of laps expected for the supersoft this could prove to be a problem early in the race.

I would expect that the two top teams may try to get through Q2 in Australia on a set of softs if possible so they give themselves a slightly more durable tyre to start the race but it all depends on the lap time difference of the soft/supersoft.

[SteveRacer]

I searched and couldn't find the answer. How many wet tires are available each weekend? What happens if every session is wet? Are enough tires brought to do complete a normal program?

[nevill3]

24.2 Quantity, selection and specification of tyres during an Event :
a) Except under Article 24.1(b) and Article 24.4(d), no driver may use more than thirteen
sets of dry-weather tyres, four sets of intermediate tyres and three sets of wet-weather
tyres during an Event. A complete set of tyres will be deemed to comprise two front and
two rear tyres all of which must be of the same specification.

and also

d) If either P1 or P2 are declared wet one additional set of intermediate tyres will be made
available to all drivers. Under such circumstances, one used set of intermediate tyres
must be returned to the tyre supplier before the start of P3.

These are in the PDF download available here

http://www.fia.com/regulations/regulati ... onship-110

[BanMeToo]

I would think the mediums would be better if the weather turns hot.

From what I understand, the two softer compounds suffer from graining in cooler temperatures, this was experienced during winter testing by several teams. So if the weather is on the cooler side the top running teams will be starting the race on a tyre that could lose performance for a few laps before "cleaning up" but with a limited amount of laps expected for the supersoft this could prove to be a problem early in the race.

In recent years with Pirelli the Soft and Hard tires are theoretically better for hot temps, SS and Medium are theoretically better for cooler temps. However it does not always pan out this way for each different car, track layout, etc.

[Gridlock]

I think I finally figured out bugs me so much about these tyre regs, and it's that instead of trying to recreate the Canadian GP they should be looking at the best F1 racing in a decade; Multi 21.

[FrukostScones]

Teams outside the top 10 may have an advantage here. They can start on the preferred race tyre (probably soft) and judge whether wear is higher or lower than expected, and can jump to using the medium or super-soft as needed.

isn't it the Top 8 now?

[Gridlock]

"We'll find out in Melbourne in Q3" has never had such a broad meaning

[pob]

Hamilton cannot use his medium set of tyres at all until the race, so he could be at a disadvantage if the weather turns cool

This is a common misunderstanding, the 2 tyre sets selected by Pirelli "for the race" can be used in practice or quali, they just can't be given back.

[nevill3]

I have just re-read the sporting regulations and you are entirely right, the two "race" compounds are not exclusively for use in the race. I posted earlier which tyres Hamilton may use over the weekend and I think I got confused between my calculations for that post and the published sporting regs.

I now remember thinking that Hamilton would not be able to use the medium tyre during the earlier practice sessions but now realise he could have if he wanted to, if he solely used two sets of tyres in practice one and two ( which is the normal pattern) and one of the sets was the medium he would have had to hand in a set of new/unused tyres and keep the used set of mediums, this would serve no purpose especially as Rosberg had two sets of mediums and would probably have used a set to furnish the team with any data they required.

This is incidental as the rules have now changed because of the wet running today.

These new tyre regulations are sure to throw a spanner in the works for someone at some point this year, please let it not be to the detriment of a title contender that effectively ruins their chance of maintaining their title challenge.

[godlameroso]

Not really, all teams should know from Australia, the MEDIUM compound is the preferred race tire, it's the most consistent, and durable of the available tires. You lose ~24 seconds every time you make a pit stop, if the time you lose with the medium to the other compounds is less than this per stint, you win. The ideal race strategy should be SS M S, using fresh tires for each stint. This is especially true in Bahrain with heavy trail braking and lots of traction events, if you have very good tire management then you can do SS S S, but the SS is not a good race tire, in 4-5 laps it's no faster than a S tire, and in 10 laps it's slower than the M. The S is faster than the M for a good 10-12 laps after which it's no faster and becomes slower by lap ~15, where the M tire can do 20 laps and maintain it's pace consistently the entire time.

Bahrain is 57 laps, doing 12 on the SS leaves 45, doing 26 on the M, leaves 19 laps to do the final stint on the S tire. In Australia teams were having difficulty making it 12 laps on SS with heavy fuel load, as Button showed when he started going backwards after trying to prolong the use of SS tires. But the SS can last considerably longer with lighter fuel loads as Riccardo showed.

Similarly if you have the pace you can do SS M M, and you can drive both M's aggressively without worring too much about degradation.

Another strategy could be to go for a 3 stop SS S S SS and hope that other teams fall back enough by trying to conserve their tyres that you can make up a 24 second gap. The pit stop(s) would have to be flawless and not at all like Vettel's.

You could go SS 10 laps S 15 laps S 17 laps SS 15 laps and have a very agressive race pushing the whole way, and being prepared to fight through traffic. Luckily it's not impossible to pass in Bahrain, especially compared to Albert Park.

[Sevach]

Ok this time it's a bit more interesting, there's a somewhat big difference between Mercedes and Ferrari.