Slimmer front tyres 2010

[ISLAMATRON]

So, you dont think there were any over takings and close fights back in the 70s and 80s ? and indeed even the 90s ?

There were periods of tire competition and not during all those periods. But what remains constant is that there are more marbles off line whenever there is a tire war. Take that for what it is.

Dont forget that strategies have fundamentally been changed by the allowence of refueling. And will again when it is again banned next year.

[DaveKillens]

But what remains constant is that there are more marbles off line whenever there is a tire war. Take that for what it is.

I've been an avid motosport fan since the late 60's, and what ISLAMATRON states, I agree with 100%

[Pingguest]

Hamashima ruled out the possibility of keeping the front tyres the same and widening the rears on cost grounds.

"A wider rear tyre is much more expensive because we have to revise the machinery and other things. We had narrower fronts in 1997, so we have the machines already."

Awww.. now that is just annoying.
I bet if there had been more than one tyre manufacturer, we would end up seeing wider rears instead.

Not with the current cornering speeds... and with a tire war we'd see a much wider gap in the field, much more marbles off line and because of that much less passing opportunities.

Ironically though, the de facto introduction of the control control in 2007 resulted in less overtaking opportunities.

The current super-soft compounds create a lot of marbles too.

[Scuderia_Russ]

These cars are going to end up looking like Formula BMW's!

[Nealio]

WhiteBlue is correct. It is a technical issue, Bridgestone has the machines to make a narrower front and they have been proven, even if it was in 1997. Interesting in that the construction must be very similar to that in 1997 to use the same molds. I'm sure the compounds will be different?
Remember this is being done to address a tire traction imbalance. In integrating a fuel tank being likely twice as large, the designers will have to take this traction re-balance into account as well.
An interesting point was made about the marbles off-line which inhibit passing. Bridgestone is responsible for this because they continue to force teams to run on tires which are incorrect for the track conditions. They claim this is to make the "show" more interesting but it accomplishes the opposite. Bridgestone is very good at developing race tires. Not so good at advertizing their strengths!

[Saribro]

I wonder whether the narrower tyres would make some teams to build a front wing that will send flow along the inner side the front wheels again.

[dp35]

I don't get it. Wasn't the reason for 2009's ugly front wings to decrease understeer & thus allow more passing? Now just one year later they want to increase understeer by using narrower front tires. Why not just go back to the old front wing, which looked better & didn't get damaged as easily?

The purpose of the wide front wing was to improve the racing, yet when it gets damaged by contact it does the exact opposite.

[Jersey Tom]

I don't get it. Wasn't the reason for 2009's ugly front wings to decrease understeer & thus allow more passing? Now just one year later they want to increase understeer by using narrower front tires. Why not just go back to the old front wing, which looked better & didn't get damaged as easily?

The purpose of the wide front wing was to improve the racing, yet when it gets damaged by contact it does the exact opposite.

Not that simple.

[modbaraban]

Why not just go back to the old front wing, which looked better & didn't get damaged as easily?

Now it's just as unclear (to me) as the tyre width, but i've heard of plans to bring back the 2008 FW width for 2010. That was before this whole row with the possible split began. Any news on those plans?

[megz]

^ That would make me a happy man

[WhiteBlue]

They finally published a picture. To me the profile looks radically different although there are only 25 mm less width. The tyres also look lower in height. Does this mean we get additional ride height for rain tyres then?

[timbo]

Can anybody elaborate what changes in suspension we may anticipate based on this picture?

[WhiteBlue]

Based on the shape of the shoulder and tread I expect the new front tyre to be a lot stiffer than the old one. I would also expect tyre pressures to go down and as I said ride height should be affected.

[Jersey Tom]

Surprised they made that public, even if it is just the inflated profile.

I'll be savin that...

Can anybody elaborate what changes in suspension we may anticipate based on this picture?

There's no way you could do that by just eyeballing the outside profile of the tire. Too much involved, particularly with aero and how much less frontal area that is.

I have an idea for how that will affect tire performance though. No, I will not elaborate

[DaveW]

Early days as yet, & a sample of one, but the 2010 tyres don't appear to have been a backward step, see here. I think the annotations are correct....