The Importance of Tyre Strategy in Formula One

In the world of Formula One, the tyre strategy and what kind of tyres are used on the car can determine the outcome of a race. Today, we'll discuss the different types of tyre compounds and their uses. If you're new to this blog, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter and don't forget to share the blog post if you found the blog post informative.

In 2022, all F1 teams use Pirelli Cheap tyres Birmingham. You won't believe F1 regulations state that Pirelli is the only tyre any team can use because of an exclusive agreement between Pirelli and the FIA. This agreement began in 2011 and has been extended through at least 2024.

Before, Pirelli Bridgestone was the official tyre of F1, but U.S tyre manufacturer Goodyear is the tyre company that holds the record with the most races run on their tyres. Before 2006, teams were allowed to use any tyre manufacturer, how cool is that, but this led to unfair advantages as bigger teams were able to afford better and more advanced tyres. The FIA put an end to that and forced all teams to use tyres from the same manufacturer

Branding Opportunity with Pirelli

Being the official tyre of F1 also allows for an incredible branding opportunity as all drivers that make it to the podium now wear Don Pirelli caps.

Dry Weather tyre Compounds (C1 to C5)

The C1 is the hardest tyre, and the C5 is the softest tyre. There are also intermediate and full wet tyre types for inclement weather. Pirelli selects three of the five types of dry weather tyres to use at each Grand Prix and notifies the teams in advance so they can prepare and test.

The selected tyres are colour coded with the hardest of the three given, White accents, the medium with yellow accents, and the softest with red accents.

Factors in Tyre Selection: Weather and Track

For teams to choose which tyre to use in a specific race, the weather and temperature are really important. If the weather is too hot, they go for harder tyres and vice versa. Another Factor that's considered is the track. For example, on tracks like Barcelona or Bahrain, tyres with high wear are used.

That's because there are fast Corners, which means tyres are under high pressure, so harder compounds are needed there. After all, they're a lot more durable than softer tyres. Lower and Middle Field teams often use hard tyres to finish the race to avoid too many pit stops to earn back some time and hopefully earn some points.

Soft Tyres on Short Tracks like Monaco

For tracks like Monaco, drivers often use the red soft tyres. The soft tyres provide more grip, but they wear out quicker. So on short and twisty tracks like Monaco, the grip is more important than the life of the tyres.

Tyre Characteristics Summary

Overall, the thing to remember is that soft tyres are the fastest but don't last very long. Hard tyres are the slowest but also last the longest. And as expected, medium tyres are right in the middle.

That's because there are fast Corners, which means tyres are under high pressure, so harder compounds are needed there. After all, they're a lot more durable than softer tyres. Lower and Middle Field teams often use hard tyres to finish the race to avoid too many pit stops to earn back some time and hopefully earn some points.

Intermediate tyres in Light Rain

The green colored tyre is the intermediate tyre, which can be used for a variety of on-track situations. It's frequently used during light rai,n where some parts of the track may be wet and others are dry. These tyres are good on medium or wet tracks but they're also capable of earning some points on dry tracks. 

For teams to choose which tyre to use in a specific race, the weather and temperature is really important. If the weather is too ho,t they go for harder tyres and vice versa. Another Factor that's considered is the track.

Full Wet Tyres for Heavy Rain

For more extreme conditions, the wet tyre with a blue colour scheme is used. However, unlike the intermediate tyre, drivers struggle with a full wet tyre in dry or drying conditions. 

Lower and Middle Field teams often use hard tyres to finish the race to avoid too many pit stops to earn back some time and hopefully earn some points.

Tyre Allocation Per Race Weekend

Every race weekend, every F1 team gets 13 sets of Car tyres Birmingham for each car, out of which three are reserved for the race and the other 10 can be used in practice or qualifying.

Real Example: Tyre Strategy at the Hungarian Grand Prix

A recent example of where the tyre strategy affected the outcome of the race was at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Ferrari's tyre strategy was flawed, and while Charles Leclerc was ahead, Ferrari placed him on hard tyres during a pit stop, while Red Bull placed Max Verstappen on mediums. Verstappen was able to pass Leclerc easily, and even though Leclerc pitted again and changed to soft tyres, it was too little too late as Verstappen went on to win the race.