New tyre rule for 2010

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Autosport
Teams agree new tyre rule for 2010

By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, January 26th 2010, 14:45 GMT

F1 pitstopFormula 1 teams have agreed to introduce an extra strategic element to races this season by forcing leading drivers to start races on the same tyres that they qualified on, AUTOSPORT can reveal.

With the ban on refuelling for 2010 already forcing a big change in tactics compared to how grands prix have run in recent years, the new rule looks set to have an impact on how teams approach qualifying as well.

Although the tweak has not yet been committed to the regulations, sources have revealed that last week's meeting of the Sporting Working Group agreed to the change as a way of improving the show.

It is understood that the majority of teams present voted in favour of a rule that will require the top 10 cars that make it through to the final session of qualifying to start the race on the same tyres that they set their fastest Q3 time on.

This will open up the possibility of teams gambling on sacrificing the best possible time in Q3 by running a more consistent but less quick tyre so as to have a better chance in the race. Alternatively, teams may choose a tyre that is better over a single lap to secure a good grid position, even if it runs the risk of compromising race performance.

The teams hope that the rule tweak will serve to mix up the tactics throughout the grid and therefore lead to more exciting races.

The change still needs to be voted on by the Formula 1 Commission and the World Motor Sport Council next week before passing into the regulations, but this is likely to be a formality.

The refuelling ban this season has brought about mixed opinions about whether it will improve the racing - with some suggesting that the difficulties in overtaking will result in races turning into pure processions.

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said on Monday that he hoped the ban would prove a positive for F1.

"Inevitably, when you make a change, there are pros and cons," he said. "Regarding the pros, it arguably makes qualifying purer because the fastest car/driver combination will be setting the fastest times, and the public can understand that.

"Secondly, in the race itself, overtaking was often being planned and implemented to occur as a consequence of strategy, and therefore happening in the pit lane and not the circuit.

"In the absence of that effect, drivers will have a greater incentive to overtake. There have been occasions in the past where a driver hasn't had that incentive because he knows he will be running longer and can get past the car ahead strategically through the pit stops.

"Additionally, the fact that drivers will qualify on low-fuel, and then the next time they drive the car in anger into the first corner will be after a standing start with cold tyres and cold brakes and 160kg of fuel.

"That will be very challenging for them, not just in terms of getting round that first corner, but in terms of how they look after their tyres and how the balance of the car will alter as a consequence of that. And there will be drivers who are able to deal with those changes better than others.

"Those are all the positives. On the negative side, it's possible that if all of the above is managed equally well by every driver, then we'll have lost one of the strategic campaign interests that the more avid fans enjoyed in the sport. Hopefully the former points will outweigh the latter."


http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81069
 
Interesting - of course this takes away from the "fastest car on the front" thing that people have been wanting...

Also - what happens if the driver puts a couple of quick laps in on the quick tyres - then comes in for the harder tyres... so that they can start on those?

If done correctly - they could do a fast lap - get round and change em - and get back on track 5 seconds before the timer counts down - then all they have to do is an outlap and back into the pits.

C.
 
Interesting - of course this takes away from the "fastest car on the front" thing that people have been wanting...

Also - what happens if the driver puts a couple of quick laps in on the quick tyres - then comes in for the harder tyres... so that they can start on those?

If done correctly - they could do a fast lap - get round and change em - and get back on track 5 seconds before the timer counts down - then all they have to do is an outlap and back into the pits.

C.

No:

autosport
by forcing leading drivers to start races on the same tyres that they qualified on

By definition that means the tyres used to set the time...I don't see how it can be interpreted any other way?
In anycase, we have seen many times that the best times are usually set later in the session, so to do this would be pointless unless you had a dominant car - which would be able to qualify well on hard compounds anyway assumedly.

Anyway, this isn't a huge change, last year the difference between compounds wasn't so huge in the same way the fuel loads were. Only a couple of races had a large difficulty with the soft tyres going off faster than normal.
This will encourage more variables in the race, even though qualifying will still be "impure".

At least we still have an element of strategy in qualifying without the long waits for the fuel weights to be published - now the BBC (or whoever) will be able to tell us the real qualifying results live rather than hours after and having to explain it in the race build up.
 
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If they implement this ruling it could make for some rather interesting situations to say the least, especially early in the season when the strength/competitiveness of the teams are still being determined.
 
By definition that means the tyres used to set the time...I don't see how it can be interpreted any other way?

Well it's quite clear that I interpreted it a different way - i.e. the tyres that they finished qualifying on... a bit like the fuel load that they "qualified on" last year - was the fuel load that they finished qualifying on...

Obviously - if your method is the way - then it would make sense - although - could be hard to enforce... unlike my method - where the cars went in "Parc Ferme" straight from the end of the session overnight... like the top 10 did last year?!

C.
 
Well it's quite clear that I interpreted it a different way - i.e. the tyres that they finished qualifying on... a bit like the fuel load that they "qualified on" last year - was the fuel load that they finished qualifying on...

Obviously - if your method is the way - then it would make sense - although - could be hard to enforce... unlike my method - where the cars went in "Parc Ferme" straight from the end of the session overnight... like the top 10 did last year?!

C.

Its pretty easy to force cars into parc ferme straight after setting their times....

Plus its obvious which tyres they set the time on..there happens to be many people watching the cars at the time ;) It would be difficult to "secretly" switch tyres in a pitlane full of people...

Seriously, "the same tyres you qualified on" cannot mean anything else other than the same tyres you qualified on. Not "the same tyres you ended the session" or the "last tyres you put on the car".
 
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Yes the cars go into Parc Ferme at the end of Q3 now...

Of course - having a lot of mucking about putting the old tyres back on etc doesn't help keep the non F1 fanatic involved with lots of red tape mucking about.

Anyways - the fact that there are two different intepretations already shows that it's ambiguous... we shall just have to wait and see what the official rule book comes out and says.

C.
 
I dont understand how you can have one set of rules for the top 10, and another set for everyone else.

I dont like the rule
 
It worked last year, didn't it?

I dont know if its about what works, but more about being fair.

In ALMS races every driver has to start on the tires he qualified on, not just the top two or ten.

If they want to create passing theres far better ways to do it then this.
 
If they want to create passing theres far better ways to do it then this.

Such as?
Nothing they've tried so far works. F1 needs to remain the "pinnacle" of motorsport both with technology and drivers, but still needs the fans to remain financially viable. It's a tough mix...
 
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