TAG wrote:I love how we demand that bags of rubber spinning around at 300 kph never ever fail.
Pole for Spa was a 107.2 second lap. Track is 4.35 miles, so average speed is only 146 mph / 235 kph. Obviously that becomes even slower for race pace. In road circuit racing you have left and right turns, so a tire that's heavily loaded in one corner gets relaxed the next.
Compare that to IndyCar or NASCAR. Pole speed for Michigan last year in NASCAR was 206 mph / 331 kph. Pole speed at the Indy 500 this year 227 mph / 365 kph. And with a turn every 8-20 seconds (depending on track), the right side tires never get a break. There have been NASCAR races with minimal tire wear, where some teams have run 150+ miles / 241 km on one set of left side tires. I won't even get into tire pressures - where at some tracks teams are so low that sidewalls are crinkled sitting on pit road.
Do I expect 0.00% failure rate in F1 racing? No. But in my mind - in the grand scheme of things it's just not that severe on tire durability. F1's had refueling come and go over the years, and likewise there have been years of single supplier vs. tire war. Has there ever been as much tire drama (be it wear and marbles, delaminating treads, failing carcass...) as the Pirelli years? Honest question - I can't speak to the 90's or early 00's. Don't really recall there being much drama during the Bridgestone era though.
Just some food for thought.
Grip is a four letter word. All opinions are my own and not those of current or previous employers.