© Vladimir RysBulls’ Guide To: TyresWe’ve all seen the various colours on the side of the Pirelli tyres, but what’s the difference and what are rules on using them?
The tyres are one of the most essential parts of a Formula One car – they’re the only part that has contact with the ground (unless something goes wrong) and will have team strategists and drivers scratching their heads about which ones to us. It’s not just dry or wet!
For most races, the strategy team will already know what compounds they’re going to use in which sessions and for how many laps. That will depend on a multitude of things, from the roughness of the track surface, track temperature and the weather. You often hear commentators talk about the driver needing to ‘get heat in the tyres’, but it’s not as simple as just getting them hot for more grip, each compound will have an optimum temperature.
If they are too hot, there will be a lot of degradation, the tyres could blister and also have pieces of rubber falling off, sometimes if they are too cold the tyres could develop ‘grainings’, a braided-like surface on the tyres that will increase the wear and degradation. Tyres have a sweet spot and the temperature can then affect whether they are in that sweet spot or either side of it.
So, that’s the background of the tyres, now you’re going to learn about the different type of Pirelli compounds…
Everyone knows there are two types of tyre – dry (slick) and wet – but it’s not that simple. There are five compounds for the slick tyre, and two for the wet.
In the past each different tyre would have a colour allocated to them, as in a stripe on the wall of the tyre, making it clear and obvious to the fan what tyre the car was running. However, for 2020 instead of having a permanent colour per tyre, they are numbered C1 to C5 and coloured, with C1 being the hardest and C5 being the softest. The characteristics of the tyres have also changed slightly, designed to increase resistance to overheating and provide greater consistency over the course of a stint.
The RB16 On Track With Medium Tyres© Vladimir Rys
C1
C1 stands for Compound 1, and it’s the hardest tyre in the 2020 Pirelli range, sitting just below the 2019 hard in terms of compounding. It’s designed for circuits that put the highest energy loadings through the tyres, which will typically feature fast corners, abrasive surfaces, or high ambient temperatures. The compound takes longer to warm up but offers maximum durability and provides low degradation. This has a white colour banded around the wall of the tyre.
C2
Compound 2, effectively last year’s medium tyre. A versatile compound, but sitting at the harder part of the spectrum, it comes into its own on circuits that tend towards high speeds, temperatures, and energy loadings. This tyre has demonstrated an ample working range and adaptability to a wide variety of different circuits. These have either a white or yellow banding.
C3
This tyre is equivalent to the soft that was nominated in all but four of the races last year. It strikes a very good balance between performance and durability, with the accent on performance. It’s a very adaptable tyre that can be used as the softest compound at a high-severity track as well as the hardest compound at a low-severity track or street circuit. This has three different possibilities of banding, white, yellow or red.
Brakes Smoking As Alex Sports The Soft Tyre© Vladimir Rys
C4
This is closest to the 2019 ultrasoft and it works well on tight and twisty circuits. It has a rapid warm-up and huge peak performance, but the other side of this is its relatively limited overall life. However, the improved consistency of this year’s compounds should mean that the softer rubber is capable of more versatile use. You'll see this tyre sporting the yellow or red banding.
C5
The softest 2020 compound is the heir to the universally-popular hypersoft: the fastest compound that Pirelli has ever made. This tyre is suitable for all circuits that demand high levels of mechanical grip, but the trade-off for this extra speed and adhesion is a considerably shorter lifespan than the other tyres in the range. Getting the most out of it will be a key to race strategy. You'll only ever see this tyre with a red banding.
The wet and intermediate tyres have been redesigned this year with new tread patterns and structures. This makes them more efficient and also more versatile. As a result, there are no longer two specifications of wet and intermediate tyre in 2020. Instead there is just one wet tyre and one intermediate tyre to suit all circuits and conditions. Unlike the slick tyres, the colours are unchanged this year, and they continue to be branded Cinturato, in homage to a name that has been synonymous with safety and control since the 1950s.
Water Disperses From The Wet Tyre© Vladimir Rys
The intermediates are the most versatile of the rain tyres. They can be used on a wet track with no standing water, as well as a drying surface. This tyre evacuates 30 litres of water per second per tyre at 300kph. There’s a new compound that is designed to expand the working range, guaranteeing a proper crossover both with the slicks and the full wets.
The full wet tyres are the most effective solution for heavy rain. These tyres can evacuate 85 litres of water per second per tyre at 300kph. There’s a new profile designed to increase resistance to aquaplaning, which will give the tyre more grip in heavy rain. The diameter of the full wet tyre is 10mm wider than the slick tyre.
Now you know about the tyres – simple isn’t it. But, what about the rules, can’t teams just use as many of the softest tyres as they want? Well no, there’s more to it and that…
For 2020, each team will choose 13 sets of slick tyres per car, but they’re only allowed to choose three of the five compounds. For example, the first race of the 2020 season in Austria, every team chose compounds C2, C3 and C4. The choices teams make can be different for each of its cars. Each car is allocated eight sets of soft (red tyres), three sets of mediums (yellow), and two sets of hard tyres (white). Pirelli will select two sets that must remain available for the race, while a set of the softest compound will also be put aside for the final part of qualifying. Teams can make up their 10 remaining sets from the three compounds available at each race. Drivers must use at least two different compounds during a dry race.
A Worn Medium Tyre With Paint From The Curbs© Getty Images
Teams will continue to hand back tyres to Pirelli over the course of the weekend: one set after the first 40 minutes of FP1, one set at the end of FP1, two sets at the end of FP2 and two sets at the end of FP3. This leaves them with seven sets available for qualifying and the race (which must include the mandatory sets).
Teams must communicate their compound choices to the FIA eight weeks in advance of each European race and 14 weeks before the start of each flyaway race. Decisions will be kept secret until two weeks before a race.
There you have it, everything you need to know about the black sticky things that keep Max and Checo on the track and at the front of the pack.
