Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Pirelli

  • Tyres for Austin

    We have F1 back on our screens this weekend and this means that Pirelli have announced their tyres for the weekend…

    The chosen ones are the middle of the compound C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium) and C4 (Soft). This nomination is the same as what it was two years ago when we last was at the track.

    At this time of year in Texas, the weather is quite unpredictable, with the chosen compounds they should be quite adaptable to a variety of temperatures, although this years race is being held earlier in the season compared to last time.

    The circuit has been resurfaced in a few places starting with the start/finish straight (including the pit lane exit) to the end of Turn 1. The exit of Turn 9 through to Turn 10, the exit of Turn 11 through to 12 and then Turn 15 through to Turn 19.

    The winning strategy back in 2019 was a two stopper medium-hard-medium from Valtteri Bottas, where as his team-mate Lewis finished second on a one stop medium-hard.

    With the track only being resurfaced last year and not much track action either, the track on Friday will be lowest grip, however with having Formula 4 and also W series so by Saturday we should have more rubber laid down.

  • Tyres for Turkey

    We are back racing this weekend and we are returning to Turkey for the second year in a row as this year it fills in for Japan.

    The tyres which have been chosen for this year is the middle of the range which are: C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium) and C4 (Soft). This is one step softer than last year when the Turkish GP was held in November.

    The decision to go one step softer was due to the data which was collected last year, the track demonstrated average levels of abrasion and low grip which resulted in an extremely slippery surface. The track was entirely re-asphalted just before the grand prix last year, since then the asphalt may have matured slightly as well its been completely cleaned with a high-pressure jet.

    The most well known corner at the Istanbul track is Turn 8, which is very long (640 metres) and it gets taken at high speed. We didn’t get to see full effect of Turn 8 last year due to the rain…

    Turkey, is quite a tough track for the tyres, with lots of force going through them, the cars run higher downforce here to help push the tyres ontp the ground. As well as this there are many corners which put demands on the tyres. Turn 1 is approached with a significant descent before heading uphill. The back straight also contains a swooping uphill kink which is nicknamed ‘Faux Rouge’.

    This years weather is a big question mark, the race is obviously being held a month earlier than last year, but with the rain dominating the weekend the teams don’t have much relevant tyre data.

    The winning tyre strategy last year which brought Lewis Hamiltons 7th title was one-stopped as he was on eight laps with the full wet tyres and then followed by 50 laps on the intermediate tyres. Lewis was one of only four drivers to pit once, the majority of the drivers stopped twice.

  • Tyres for Sochi

    Its race week once again, after being off for a week we are returning to Sochi, Russia this weekend for Round 15.

    Pirelli have chosen their tyres and they are the softest of the compounds, C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft), this is the first time these have been picked since Austria, it is also the same nomination which was made last season.

    This circuit, is generally all about traction and breaking, the corners are mostly slow to medium speed but the most demanding corner is turn 3, which is a multi-apex left hander.

    Sochi, isn’t used much for the rest of the season so its often seen to be slippery towards the start of the weekend, this can then sometimes cause tyres to slide rather than grip especially during the two free practice sessions on the Friday.

    Russia is normally a one-stop race, last year the top two finishers used a medium to hard strategy but there was a variation down the rest of the grid.

    This weekend, we just don’t have Formula One, we are also joint by Formula Two for round six and by Formula Three for their last round of the season and its the first time they will be in Russia since 2019.

    F2 have been nominated, the Mediums and the Purples (Ultra-soft) which was the same as last year. F3 have been nominated the Hard tyre for their final 3 races of the 2021 season.

  • Tyres for Monza

    Well, we are on our final race week out of our triple header and we are back at Monza for the Italian Grand Prix! Pirelli have also chosen their tyres for the weekend…

    We have the middle of the range this time around which are: C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium) and C4 (Soft). These are the same compounds which were selected for the last two years at Monza which offer a good balance for the demands on the track.

    Monza is the second race this year which will host the sprint qualifying format. The usual tyre format has changed, rather than 13 sets for a weekend their will only be 12. During Friday qualifying, only the soft tyre can be used, where as in sprint qualifying you can use any tyres and their is no mandatory pit stop.

    Monza is known for its flat out straights, followed by heavy braking areas, but with some slower than others and then some technical sections adding into it. The long straights as well makes the tyres cool down which then can affect the position of turning.

    We also have Formula Two with us this weekend in Monza, returning for round 5! The tyres selected for them are the mediums and the softs. This is the first and only time that this selection will be made this year.

  • Tyres for Austria

    This week we have got a different set of tyres for the Red Bull Ring, Pirelli done similar to this at last years double header at Silverstone.

    Pirelli have designated the softest compound and they are C3 (Hard), C4 ( Medium) and C5 (Soft).

    The circuit isn’t very demanding on tyre wear, which then makes it possible for the softest tyres in the range to be used. The softest compound being used this weekend could push the teams for a two-stop strategy on Sunday, unlike last week where it was just a one-stop.

    Pirelli are also testing a new rear construction of tyre in free practice, Pirelli say the decision has been taken “in addition to the recently issued Technical Directive and the latest starting parameters” they prescribed, following the tyre blowouts for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll in Baku.

    It is to be believed that this latest move by Pirelli is to build an extra margin on tyres used by the whole of the F1 grid.

    Each driver will have two sets of the new tyres available for use in either of the practice sessions on Friday, if the test is successful then the new rear specification will be introduced from the next race, Silverstone onwards.

  • Tyres for French Grand Prix

    This weekend we are back at the French Grand Prix after having a year off due to Covid-19 and Pirelli have announced their tyres for this weekend…

    We have the middle compounds in the Pirelli range which are C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium) and C4 (Soft), this is the same range what they had back in 2019, the winning strategy was a one-stop from mediums to hards. It will be interesting to see who will be on the same strategy and wether that is on the winning strategy from 2019 or if they change it up.

    The tyres what have been chosen are meant to be well suited to the different characteristics of the track, the new asphalt laid on nearly all 15 corners just before the 2019 race ensures a smooth surface for the tyres to work on.

    The tyre degradation at the Paul Ricard circuit is low, however Turn 13 is particularly demanding in terms of continuous energy demands on the tyre.

    Not only do we have F1 this weekend, we also have Formula Three for their second round of the year – only one tyre compound is nominated for each Formula 3 round and the Hard Tyre has been chosen for this weekend.

  • Pirelli tyres

    So following on from the weekend in Azerbaijian, during the race we have two high speed crashes from Lance Stroll and Max Verstappen because of tyre blowouts.

    Both drivers were on the hard tyre compound, Lap 30 of the race is when Stroll crashed and spun violently into the wall which could of been a lot worse! Verstappen was leading the race with only 5 laps to go and then he suffered the exact same.

    However, Pirelli’s Head of F1 and Car Racing didn’t believe that tyre wear had been the issue in either of the incidents Mario Isola told the media: “I don’t want to give any preliminary conclusions. But it seems that it is a cut due to debris, because as I said, it’s not the most stressed tyre… We had other cars with the same number of laps [on the] same tyres without any issue. So the preliminary investigation is that it is probably due to an external factor, or debris, or kerb or whatever.” Isola then went on to add “Another element was there was no sign, or any warning according to the teams, we have to receive the telemetry from them but what they told us was that there was no warning, no vibration nothing to seem that there would be something in the tyres.”

    Isola suggested that Verstappens crash could have been caused by running over debris from Stroll’s crash. Meanwhile Pirelli announced that they have also spotted a cut in the hard tyre of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes, this was discovered when everyone pitted under the red flag.

    My Opinion:

    I personally have very mixed views on this, I think that Pirelli need to review there Hard compound tyre, I don’t think Stroll’s was due to debris as no one had crashed before him and to make that big of impact to the tyre and car you’d expect it to be a big piece of debris off a crash. Where as Verstappen’s could possibly be a bit of debris, when you watch the replay you can see no debris on the track big enough to cut the tyre but then again this isn’t the first time the hard tyre has had a blowout etc as last year at Silverstone’s first race, Bottas, Sainz and Hamilton all suffered tyre blowouts on the hard tyre.

    I’d love to know your view on this so I have added a poll and video below!

    Sky Sports Video on Youtube

  • Tyres for Azerbaijan

    This weekend we will be back in Azerbaijan not just with Formula One but Formula Two also and Pirelli have announced which tyre compounds they are bringing to the race weekend.

    Unlike 2019, this years Azerbaijan Grand Prix will see the teams use the softest tyres in Pirelli’s F1 range C3 (hard) tyre, C2 (medium) tyre and C5 (soft) tyres. This is one step softer than the last Azerbaijan race weekend.

    For the third round of the season for Formula Two, they will be using 18-inch tyres, yellow striped medium and purple striped super soft tyres, making this the first time the mediums have been used in this season.

    With the Formula One race being 51 laps and Formula Two’s sprint race being 21 laps and the feature race 29 laps, it will definitely be an interesting and crazy race as always in Baku! All eyes onto the weekend🤩

    This weekend we are expected sunshine so no rain at the moment, however things can always change👀 look below to see more information on Pirelli and Azerbaijan.