Pirelli thwart F1’s plans for faster cars in 2017

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In the round-up: Pirelli has told teams it cannot build tyres which can sustain the increase in downforce necessary to slash lap times in 2017.

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Comment of the day

The spectating experience has changed since Hunt’s day
A seasoned veteran of the stands compares the F1 experience of today with days of old:

Being a gentleman of a certain age I used to regularly go to Silverstone and once visited Brands Hatch (I joined the good-natured chanting for James Hunt to restart so you can work out how long ago that was!).

Practice days were also a regular feature and I used to get very excited at the sheer noise of Cosworths popping and banging, which you could always hear long before you got in place at the circuit. Paddock walkabouts were always an interesting feature and affordable as we used to buy tickets (possibly used) and then after our visit loiter at the foot of The Dunlop bridge and re-sell them for half price (or whatever)!

By comparison my last visit was to accompany a friend whose boss had bought a weekend package in a charity auction and nobody in his office wanted the tickets!! We sat in the stands at Woodcote and couldn’t hear the public announcer (we didn’t have any audio either), and didn’t keep lap charts.As a result we weren’t sure who had won until we left. I went home and watched the race on TV! Still watch every race and miss the atmosphere of the live event but don’t hanker after a race day visit.
Salcrich

Which F1 tracks on the 2016 calendar do you want to visit? Join the discussion here:

From the forum

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Abdurahman and Brian Frank!

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On this day in F1

Happy birthday to former F1 driver, Le Mans 24 Hours driver and FIA steward Emanuele Pirro who is 54 today.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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96 comments on “Pirelli thwart F1’s plans for faster cars in 2017”

  1. ForzaAlonsoF1
    12th January 2016, 0:34

    DC fronting C4 F1 coverage? Noooooo! I surmised we’d escaped this insufferable fool. Knowledgeable and experienced yes, but one could never be warmed to his character because, well…..he doesn’t have one. Bring Lee McKenzie over – at least there’d be something nice to look at.

    1. Paul (@frankjaeger)
      12th January 2016, 3:56

      As long as they drop Suzi Perry i’ll be ecstatic

    2. Disagree completely. To me he is one of the better commentators around.

      1. I feel like British people are very vocal/critical about their commentators and they don’t realise how good their coverage is compared to what the rest of the world gets.

        1. Never a truer word spoken.

      2. Agreed. I think he’s great to have on the coverage.

      3. Apex Assassin
        12th January 2016, 16:37

        Agreed. I like his honesty and objectivity. Miles and miles better than Brundle.

    3. It does rather look as though David Coulthard and his ‘issues’ are here to stay!

    4. Coulthard is unenthusiastic but I couldn’t care less about that.

    5. I do wonder if you could be less condescending Lee McKenzie? I’m not sure.

      She’s an excellent broadcaster, so I hope she moves across for that reason.

  2. It wouldn’t matter if Pirelli could make the 2017 tyres work (only a while ago they were bragging they could make the current cars much faster if they were allowed to) because the teams would soon workout how to set the cars up so that they could be driven slower and save a pitstop or 2 thereby being 1st to finish, theoretically.
    The only solution is to make pitstops to punishing to be advantageous and return to racing on the track, could save teams money too.

    1. RaceProUK (@)
      12th January 2016, 0:59

      And the easiest way to make pit-stops more punishing, time-wise? Do tyre changes like in sportscars: two people change all four tyres. OK, you’ll lose the 2.5s pit-stops, but the teams will be desperate to avoid doing more than one pit-stop, meaning more on-track action.

      1. @raceprouk, quite right, and you made me think about why we get the same results with teams all adopting the same strategy and a little thought popped into my head ; by limiting the speed through the corners or requiring higher downforce to go faster through the corners without overheating the tyres, this tyre regime is actually exaggerating the effect of the power difference.

      2. @hohum @raceprouk Might as well have pitstop-less races?

        1. RaceProUK (@)
          12th January 2016, 15:23

          You’d have to get rid of the two-compounds-per-race rule first. Oh, and get Pirelli to make a tyre last more than 20 laps.

        2. @davidnotcoulthard, that would be ideal, fans of tyre-changing as a team sport may disagree with me but it ain’t driving, it ain’t power and it ain’t handling, and those are the basis of motor racing for me.

  3. RaceProUK (@)
    12th January 2016, 0:43

    Michael Schumacher: Fans deserve to know the truth about his health, however grim

    The truth is he’s in a coma, he’s being cared for by highly trained professionals, and they’ll report when there’s something worth reporting.

    I think that covers it nicely :)

    1. I think. and hope, you are making an assumption there.

      1. RaceProUK (@)
        12th January 2016, 1:01

        I’m simply basing it on the last known state, and the fact that there’s been no news of any change for a long time.

        1. @raceprouk I’m pretty sure it was confirmed he was out of his coma, but was in a PVS.

          1. RaceProUK (@)
            12th January 2016, 10:36

            I must have missed that update

    2. I think what many take issue with, is that even IF there is any change in his condition, the family are highly unlikely to want to share that with his fans @raceprouk

      1. RaceProUK (@)
        12th January 2016, 10:37

        And it’s quite right that they be allowed their privacy

        1. petebaldwin (@)
          12th January 2016, 13:30

          It is their call but they have to accept that offering absolutely no information regarding the health of someone so hugely popular is going to result in false stories and rumours.

          1. RaceProUK (@)
            12th January 2016, 15:24

            I imagine they’re too busy caring for Michael to worry about the shovelling of waste that the tabloid press loves to do so much.

          2. This is not about tabloids but about his fans or people who care about him. People want to be nice to the family because they are in such a tragedy but i will say it because i don’t care being PC. His wife is being an ass about it.
            Just throwing 2 sentences about in what condition his currently in, is not some violation of his privacy. Is not like anyone asks to know what they do every day or what they are feeding him etc. Just tell us what his general condition is, nothing more.

  4. “The public deserve to know” cry the press whenever anybody cheats them of their God given right to make money out of somebodies misery. Well they don’t, MSC has every right to his privacy and the press can’t even claim to be playing the “safety in sport” card.

    1. Spot on.

      1. This is the thing though. A sensible update would go a long way to pulling the rug out from under the press, and discourage baseless speculation.

        All media advice starts with taking control of the situation and putting out your own coherent narrative.

        1. “and discourage baseless speculation”

          Lol, you are so naive. Were you born yesterday?

        2. A coma is a complicated thing as there are all kinds of subtle differences within the condition. Does he breath on his own, does he have brain activity, is he conscious, and if he is, does he responds to stimuli. usually it’s a pretty mixed bag of these where one day a person can be responsive and the other day he does nothing. It’s impossible to give a better update than: “He is breathing on his own, conscious (most of the times) and being taken care for.” so i don’t think any answer will satisfy.

        3. RaceProUK (@)
          12th January 2016, 10:39

          discourage baseless speculation

          Sadly, facts aren’t a barrier to media speculation, especially in today’s gossip-hungry sales-driven world.

    2. @hohum – As a member of the general public I concur. The Schumacher family have the right to do what they wish regarding the press. They are already in a tough spot and do not need any added pressure from the media. It is their business.

      1. Well said.

    3. Exactly @hohum the media are covering up their quench to make more money in the pretext of serving the fans. Well, I for sure (and I guess many if not most fans at least) would want to hear positive news about Michael. But, I respect his family to have privacy. As @raceprouk says above their time and energy would be best used to attend to Michael than to regularly feed the abyss that the media happens to be.

      1. I disagree, the press can make up enough stories whether they give new about him or not. The guy that writer the article was NOT writing because he wants juicy stories. What he wrote is absolute truth.
        And YES an official report about his health WILL put a tend on speculations.
        Schumacher is a public figure and many of the millions his family has to take such good care of him is because he had to so many fans and people caring about him.
        His wife has a social responsibility to at least say to all this people who care what his condition is.
        I have the right not to go the wedding of my best friend but when it comes to social responsibility i should really go and the same goes here. Yes the family has the right not to inform but they really should.

        Also the violation of privacy is a lot of bull really. Just knowing what condition his in is not violation of privacy.
        If i tell you i have a bad back is not really such a big privacy thing.

  5. Is anyone really ready to believe that with another year to prepare that a tyre can’t be produced that will cope with higher levels of downforce than current cars? Current cars which are already running less downforce than 2011, 2012 and 2013 cars which Pirelli managed to produce tyres for.

    We had cars in 2010 with a double blown diffuser. The RB6 could go flat through turn 9 at Catalunya and Copse at Silverstone. They managed to make grooved tyres in 2004 who’s records stand to this day. Tyres that could last an entire race distance in 2005 with a V10 beating on them and higher levels of downforce than we have today.

    I can’t help but feel that after everyone has been pointing out the obvious that higher downforce will hurt racing they’re now looking to backtrack on it. But why would Pirelli fall on that sword? Why wouldn’t they just say it can’t be done while also having the designed to degrade gimmick as well?

    1. Pirelli are again showing their incompetence. As you say, tyres have been made by other manufacturers for higher downforce cars in the past- so why not now?

      1. As you say, tyres have been made by other manufacturers for higher downforce cars in the past- so why not now?

        Not according to the BBC article

        Among other issues, Mercedes pointed out that current F1 cars are approaching historic highs in terms of downforce and power and that, if the sport pressed ahead, Pirelli would have to deal with loads to which no other racing tyre has ever been subjected.

        I think another issue is load, aren’t F1 cars now much heavier than they were in the last 10 years? This increased the load the tyres have to deal with too.

    2. @philipgb, it is probably because the teams know that, if the blame is shifted onto Pirelli, most fans will just blindly charge in with complaints about Pirelli and will therefore not question the actions of the teams themselves.

    3. Yep @philipgb I agree. Teams have finally woken up to the reality of what ‘going faster’ means and bailed. As Toto says they’re very fast already. Pirelli have been cast as the fall guy.

      Hopefully that’s the end of the ‘2017 spec’ silliness and we can have some desperately needed convergence for a while.

      1. They will change the rules in 2017 anyway, but the new target is a 3 second gain apparently.

        The lack of vision is quite hallucinating to be honest.

    4. The whole thing is stupid, because they are supposedly doing all this to make the cars faster because there was a lot of whining about how the cars are slow and the drivers get less g-forces and aren’t sweating as much trying to keep their neck straight but really if the 2017 car can be like 4 seconds faster that what we had in 2015 then is all for nothing because actually they will be just 2 seconds if not less faster because by 2017 the currents would have gotten faster by 2 seconds or more anyway.

  6. I’m beginning to like S. Marchionne, apparently you have to not have been in F1 for decades to see that Emperor Bernard is actually naked and the business model of teams spending hundreds of millions to put on a show that only makes money for Bernie and the business men he sold out to, is not something a publicly owned company should be kowtowing to.

  7. Jack (@jackisthestig)
    12th January 2016, 1:17

    “Sources say Pirelli made a presentation to the teams in which it said its tyres, made to the planned 2017 dimensions, could not cope with more than a 10-15% increase in downforce without it needing to impose much higher tyre pressures.”

    uuurm… so run them at higher pressures then. Grooved Bridgestone and Michelin tyres were setting lap records 12 years ago, I really can’t see what the problem is.

    1. Simon (@weeniebeenie)
      12th January 2016, 2:02

      @jackisthestig higher pressures = slower laptimes, is their point. Also, 12 years ago the cars were 100kg+ lighter, it make a lot of difference on the tyre loads.

      1. If the proposed dimensions don’t work, change them. I can’t help but feel they should be more than capable though and something is amiss.

        1. Hear, hear.

          I believe there’s more than enough of competent Newey alumni scattered throughout the teams to let the RBR designer come up with the rules. I’ll love to see him beaten to his own game.

        2. @vettel1 I’m starting to think the BBC simply misinterpreted Pirelli……

        3. Haven’t they already changed the proposed dimensions? I thought they slimmed them down as the original sizes which were proposed would create too much drag.

          1. @geemac, just so long as they look good-cool-agressive-blah-blah who cares whether they work or not.

  8. After years of defending Pirelli to my friends, towing the line “they’re just making what’s been asked for,” I’m really starting to think that maybe Pirelli just isn’t that good at making tires. They can’t find more performance? All this time we’ve been led to believe that Pirelli was providing conservative tires, made worse ‘for the show’. I also was (probably mistakenly) under the impression that if the lap times dropped in 2017, designed-to-degrade would go away.

    If you’re curious, the other thing that caused me to lose most faith in Pirelli was being at the U.S. Grand Prix this year. I was there on Saturday and while there was a lot of rain, it wasn’t a downpour, and I’ve seen sports cars race in worse, repeatedly. After a while I started to think maybe Pirelli just makes a terrible rain, tire, and wondered what these cars would have been on Michelin rain tires.

    1. Michelin, Bridgestone, Dunlop, Firestone, Toyo, none could be as bad as these Pirellis.

    2. @kmccauley, are you sure that sportscars can actually run in worse conditions? I recall that the 2014 6 Hours race at COTA was temporarily halted after cars started aquaplaning off the track in similar conditions.

      1. RaceProUK (@)
        12th January 2016, 10:40

        And the 2014 Fuji race ran for a colossal 7(!) laps before being red flagged, due to the circuit effectively being a lake.

      2. RaceProUK (@)
        12th January 2016, 15:28

        Almost forgot: 2014’s Silverstone WEC race was red flagged early, again because it got too wet. And the ELMS support race ran less than half the full duration for the same reason.

    3. @kmccauley The problem for Pirelli is they can’t adequately test the tyres in the real world. Any time they pick a team to run something new, said team either uses the run to test new parts to get around testing restrictions or rivals cry foul that the team doing the testing are ‘gaining valuable data’ on their car.

      No team will provide Pirelli with an old car for the same reasons – support staff from the supplying team will need to be present, so they will gather data ahead of rivals.

      It’s a broken situation because the teams are all so competitive, they ruin it for themselves.

      1. RaceProUK (@)
        12th January 2016, 19:20

        There’s still those old Toyotas hanging around, aren’t there? Y’know, the ones they made right before pulling out of F1. Could one of them be retrofitted with a modern hybrid unit? The higher downforce would allow them to test more thoroughly. Well, maybe; tbh, I don’t really know.

    4. And yet their current track day road legal tyres are arguably the best a long with a lot of their other road tyres. By 2017 the world and technology has moved on 13 years from when F1 cars were pulling huge g forces relative to today and had more power. Road tyres have moved a long way since then so I am guessing race tyres will have as well. To me this smells like we do not want to spend the money to make these tyres we want to keep what we have which will not cost us anymore and we get the advertising still of being the official F1 tyre supplier.

  9. For a company that is in F1 to market its product in a positive manner, Pirelli seem to be doing the opposite effortlessly.

    1. @jaymenon10
      Exactly! Honestly, from what it seems, 2017 cars should be a couple of seconds quicker than the 2004 cars. The 2004 bridgestones were incredible durable and grippy.

      If 13 years onwards, Pirelli find it too hard of a challenge to make tyres that were more durable and grippy than the 2004 Bridgestones, then honestly, they really aren’t worthy of providing tyres to the sport.

      F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport technology, and that includes technology in tyre design and performance. Pirelli really need to change their attitude or approach towards this challenge, and innovate like every other stakeholder in this sport. It’s ridiculous that a tyre supplier’s limitations could impact the changes we are going to see in the 2017 season.

    2. petebaldwin (@)
      12th January 2016, 13:56

      @jaymenon10 This whole episode will forever live in text books as an example of what not to do to improve the brand image of your company! I had no real opinion either way of them when they started but my view now is that they appear to be a fairly amateurish operation!

      Hearing them say “you can’t make the cars go faster – our tyres can’t cope with it” rather than “hmm this appears to be a challenge. Let’s make it happen!” says all you need to know about the company.

      1. @petebaldwin – Maybe there’s no financial incentive to do the hard work involved in the “Let’s make it happen” scenario. Bernie E is involved in this, after all.

      2. Hearing them say “you can’t make the cars go faster – our tyres can’t cope with it” rather than “hmm this appears to be a challenge. Let’s make it happen!” says all you need to know about the company.

        *facepalm*

        Ok firstly, that statement completely misrepresents the situation. They are trying to make it happen. What they are saying (which you could have read the article and found out for yourself instead jumping straight in to have a go at them) is that based off of their current *early* work they feel they can increase the tyre load capacity roughly 10% at current pressures. Any further increase will have to involve increasing tyre pressures too.

        As an aside, given how Pirelli have been treated in the aftermath of previous tyre failures (even when it later turned out to be the driver/team at fault instead), you can bet anything you like they are now basing that number on very conservative estimations.

        Anyway the teams heard the phrase “increase tyre pressures”, balked, and the have majority voted for the rules to be revised. That isn’t Pirelli’s fault.

        Also:

        “hmm this appears to be a challenge. Let’s make it happen!”

        This is a noble attitude to have sure, but people who follow it blindly against overwhelming evidence of the ‘challenge’s’ feasibility, or even physical possibility, are idiots! You are painting Pirelli like somebody told them that they were trying to make the cars faster in 2017 and they flat out refused straight away. This is not the case!

        Pirelli said: “Maybe a totally brand new tyre can be built. There is a lot of speculation about this process, but it is still at a very early stage.”

        See? They want to make things happen. But there are more limits in the world than ones willingness to try.

    3. RaceProUK (@)
      12th January 2016, 19:21

      For the majority of Pirelli customers, all this designed-to-degrade nonsense doesn’t matter; they see ‘The tyre used in F1’, and that’s enough to get them to part with their cash.

      1. @raceprouk I used to think that way. Pirelli tyres were fitted as standard when I bought a new car in 2009, so I was delighted when 2011 came along and I had the same brand as in F1.

        I know that F1 race tyres are a completely different product to my road tyres but their performance and how they’ve conducted themselves in F1 has put me off. Last year when I had to replace my tyres I chose another brand

  10. This is pathetic from Pirelli. Get a new tire supplier.

  11. To a certain extent, I would agree with the claim that “fans deserve to know the truth” about Michael Schumacher’s state of health if he had suffered the severe injuries while racing an F1 car. I believe that “we are in this together” and if a serious accident happens on the track, then fans should have access to the record or animation of the crash and they should also get some information on the driver’s medical condition.

    But Schumacher is a retired F1 driver, who had a skiing accident. That is his private life and we have no right to know anything about that, just like we are not entitled to information about the health of André Guelfi (the oldest living F1 driver) or even Jody Scheckter’s cows (he is a farmer now). I agree that more information would probably leave less room for speculation but that still does not give anyone any rights to spread rumours about Schumacher’s condition. I also believe that the last official statement actually revealed quite a lot.

    I am sure that Schumacher’s family is doing everything to help him feel better and that is what really matters know. As for the rest of us, let us remember and celebrate Schumacher’s career and not waste our time on worthless speculation.

    1. @girts – I think you make some valid points. But here’s a story: Back in the summer of 1997 I was working in Kuala Lumpur. One night at the end of August I was out with some local friends when small queues of people started offering me their consolations “for my loss”. They were all genuinely upset yet being very supportive. Princess Diana’s death had just become big news, but I had no idea.
      That night I couldn’t sleep as “Candle in the Wind” was played, very loudly and all night, in the hotel where I was staying. The next day there were cut flowers in bunches everywhere (and flowers wilt away in no time in KL).
      Yet the news of Diana’s death left me almost unmoved – although I’m English, I don’t feel any connection with the royal family. I was completely overwhelmed by the outpouring of emotion around me though.
      So when I try to think about the Schumacher situation, I have to just throw up my hands. People are wonderfully irrational. Personally I think the wishes of his family should be paramount even though I would love some good news. But the fact remains that “fans” can have a depth of emotional attachment that humbles me.
      Apologies for such a long post!

      1. @tribaltalker Thanks very much for the post.

        We can have a deep connection with people that we have never met or seen. I was reminded of that once again today when I read that the British singer Colin Vearncombe aka Black (‘Wonderful Life’) has been seriously injured in a car accident. Not many people know him today but his music and his thoughts have had a significant impact on my life. I even once got a COTD on F1 Fanatic after quoting him. For sure, the news made me sad and I wanted to know more about his condition than the official statement said.

        But it is what it is. The family decides how much they wish to reveal in such tragic situations and we do not really have the right to demand more details than we get.

  12. Re comment of the day, I disagree, I too had similar experiences, my first GP was Belgium 1994 on a general ticket and after 2 hours of walking around looking for a spot that didnt have 5 germans pressed against the fence, I eventually found myself perched on a small cliff at the bus stop only able to see 50 feet of track. I had no idea what the hell was going on.
    So from that moment on, I have chosen my tickets carefully so I always have a screen in view, I have embraced the available technology, handheld consul plus course radio and have been to around 10 GP in the last few years and loved everyone.
    My advice, the world moves on embrace the tech and enjoy.

  13. And here it is guys, Pirelli finally admits they have no idea how to build F1 tyres.

  14. Lovely article from Kate Walker about Maria Teresa de Filippis and a really nice sharing of memories of Tyler Alexander. Shame both of them have died now.

  15. Isn’t wonderful to see that everything is in place and ready to go for 2017? FOM, the FIA, the F1 tire supplier, the engine manufacturers and all the team constructors are on the same page and ready to race in 2017. Isn’t it amazing and heartwarming how all parties came to the table to approve sensible regulations for faster cars, better racing and a better F1 for the fans? And with plenty of time for all the design, construction, testing and all the unforeseen problems resulting from major formula changes too.

    Bbbbbzzzzz….. ooops, just woke up from a dream…

  16. Following the logic of leading people at SF it would be the best for Bernie to pay for engines after exiting FOM. It’s a conclusion mostly aligned with their latest statements. I think their reasoning is down to combination of low pressure going across northern Italy and full moon in late December. To be honest we all have these moments, sometimes… I almost forgot, stock exchange reports might have something to do with it as well :-)

  17. Michael Schumacher: Fans deserve to know the truth about his health, however grim

    With all due respect to us F1 fans, no we don’t. This is a private matter and his family can handle this any way they see fit. I lost my father 4 years back and can empathise with Corinna, Mick and Gina Maria. Our friends let us know they were there for us all and would help whenever we needed it while he was ill, but they largely left us to it and that was the best thing they could have done. The family need space at this time as Michael is obviously still undergoing extensive treatment. The best we can do is leave them be and pray he recovers.

  18. From what I understand from the BBC article, the proposal is now to revise out the changes to the regulations that were likely to improve the racing in favour of ones that are likely to be detrimental.

    This really is a farce.

  19. There should be a significant margin between what the tyres can “take” and what the cars can give out. Degradation and grip can be toyed with, safety should not be in any doubt at all in any circumstance. A tyre blow out at the wrong time could get someone killed. We’ve been though it once, not again.

  20. The top line of the Giedo Van Der Garde story says

    Former Caterham and Sauber F1 driver Giedo van der Garde will make his Le Mans debut in June, driving for the JOTA Sport LMP2 team

    Wasnt he only Sauber’s ATM untill someone else came along with money?

    1. He was their official reserve in 2014 so I suppose you can say he was a Sauber driver in the loose sense of the word.

      1. @geemac So was I among all the signings, at least that’s what my CV says.

        1. @xtwl I had a brief spell as team principal between FP1 and FP2 in Melbourne…

  21. Geez. Pirelli… Unbelievable. Tires again. When will head boss in Italy cry… NO more, this bad publicite has gote goe.

    Any time i listen to racing news I hear wow WEC, new slick intermediate Michelins, can cope with wet track without groves, then hulk says he could push entire race 24h.. Was nice for a change he said.

    And now this. Obviously deal was signed for comercial reasons. Pirelli plays ball with Bernie. But this is fast deflating, pun intended, in to a nightmare.

    Yet again cars go faster tires hold them back. 27 psi, no idea what that idea in kPa. But having to run high pressures just shows no faith in sidewall construction and poor compounds.

    Ok compounds need to be degrading ok, but why are sidewalls compromised? 13″ rims? 2004 cars had 13″ rims and ran low pressures and did amazing laptimes.

    2017, and they cannot come up with a decent tire? Reminds me of no astranout on the moon for decades now. Maybe racing will be like that aswell, no fast car for a decade now.

    No drama in the corners, no driver fatigue, just mental games, tire saving, and press conference dramas.

    So solution, dont do more downforce or face more tire pressure from big 400mm rubber. But teams will be teams, they will get more downforce and pressures will build, and laptimes will be slow, overtaking impossible. I call 2017 year when Golf will overtake F1 as more watched sport on Sky Sports.

    1. In 2004, F1 cars were lighter and did not carry race fuel at the starts which also makes them massively heavier than their predecessors. Multiply that difference in weight up with increased downforce and the loads on the tyres will be massively more than the 2004 tyres.

      1. And were grooved, and were 12 years ago.

        WEC cars are heavier than F1 cars. Less downforce yes but that means more lateral inertia due to the higher mass so they likely have to endure more surface friction from slip.

        1. Nonsense, WEC cars are much much slower, carry much less downforce and do not run on 13″ rims. The comparison is non existent. I think the problem is in the 13″ rims, it is the big flappy sidewalls of an F1 tyre that will not take the load, not so much the tyre surface.

          1. I think the problem is in the 13″ rims,

            then let michelin enter & go with the 18″ rims like they wanted to before pirelli brought the tyre supply contract.

            pirelli knew what the goals for 2017 were when they brought the most recent contract, if they felt they cannot make suitable tyres for the regulations then they should step aside and allow a tyre supplier than believes they can have a go.

          2. RaceProUK (@)
            12th January 2016, 17:51

            it is the big flappy sidewalls of an F1 tyre that will not take the load

            Then make them thicker.

            Problem solved :)

  22. So concerning Pirelli, what was promised when the FIA was choosing Pirelli vs Michelin for a contract from 2017 onwards? Did Pirelli say they can do it? They knew this information of the suggested speed increase at the time. Now, after having won the contract say it’s not that easy?

    Did the FIA not ask this question at the time they were giving the green light for which tire manufacture to choose? I know they left it to Bernie after they were satisfied with both.

    Now you have this statement?
    Ridiculous!

  23. In 2004, F1 cars were lighter and did not carry race fuel at the starts. This makes the current generation of car massively heavier than their predecessors. Multiply that difference in weight up with increased downforce and the loads on the tyres will be massively more than the 2004 tyres.

    1. RaceProUK (@)
      12th January 2016, 15:29

      Never let facts get in the way of Pirelli bashing ;)

      1. Wec cars have more downforce, more weight and produce higher loads… And get this … They dont have to conserve tires much.

  24. Hi @keithcollantine, thanks for the round-up. The “Channel 4 awards Formula One production contract to Whisper Films (The Independent)” link is currently pointing to the Michael Schumacher Independent article.

    Very interesting that those three people set up the company in 2010 when all was seemingly well with the BBC. I wonder if they knew what was to come with the Sky deal and set up Whisper for exactly this situation?

  25. Apex Assassin
    12th January 2016, 16:39

    I am so SICK of Formula Pirelli and their constant lies.

    As a lifelong F1 that was there for Schumi’s first and last race I don’t agree we are owed the latest news or even any news on his situation. It’s a private matter for him and his family to discuss as much or as little as they wish.

  26. Regardless of if your a fan of Pirelli’s tyres & what they have done to F1 the past couple seasons I feel the question needs to be asked on if its right that the regulations are now seemingly been developed around the tyres that the supplier can supply rather than the tyre supplier having to adapt & develop their tyres around the requirements of the cars.

    Up until this point any tyre supplier has had to develop its tyres around the regulations that are in place & had to develop its tyres around whatever stresses & strains the cars of the time were putting on them to ensure a safe, high performance product.
    For a tyre supplier to have as much say in the direction of the regulations as Pirelli seem to have is to my knowledge unprecedented & I am really uncomfortable with the direction over recent season with F1 having to conform to the requirements/limitations of the tyre supplier rather than things working the other way around as has traditionally been the case.

    If you look back through history when turbo’s 1st started been used in F1 in the late 70s/early 80s which started putting a ton more strain on the rear tyres, As ground effects got more & more powerful in the years leading upto the ban which started putting a lot more load on the tyres & as downforce levels got higher & higher over the years which was putting more & more loading on the tyres none of the various suppliers ever asked for the regulations to be changed, The tyre suppliers always went away & came back with better tyres which were able to withstand the increases in car performance.

    In my view if Pirelli really do believe that they cannot produce tyres under the current tyre rules which would meet the requirements of the extra load the 2017 regulations will put on the tyres then they need to either work with the FIA & teams to alter the tyre rules to allow them to make changes to the tyres which would be suitable for 2017 or look at moving out of F1 & allowing any tyre supplier who feels they could make tyres suitable for 2017 a chance to enter F1.

  27. Hi
    Just a general comment about F1!!

    1. You could put two soft tire in front and two medium tire at the back
    2. Knowing that little team always finish last, they could try to be very agressive (tire, aero, motor, race) to catch up because they always be last.
    3. A team could have two cars and in each car we put two (Toro Roso) (1 Ferrari Motor + 1 Renault Motor)

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