[EP3?-?Engineered to perfection] The science behind F1?tires.

I’m absolutely sure that you’ve heard of Pirelli before. They are the sole tire manufacturer in F1 since 2011. They also manufacture one of the best-performing street compounds, the P Zero product line.

You may see F1 tires as black rubber rings fitted to their wheel rims, but you’re wrong. These rubber rings are considered to be a masterpiece of elastomer engineering.?

By choosing select chemicals, mixing and vulcanizing them you are in fact creating an interface between your wheel and the road that defines your levels of grip and speed.?

Variations in the compound will have a direct effect on how that car handles and what speeds it can achieve, that’s called formulation.?

Chemical formulation is one aspect of designing a tire, so let’s dive into the specifics of F1 tyre engineering.

Introduction to F1 tire compound.

Tires are mainly made of an elastomer compound. Compounds are generally formed by mixing several components, each has its own function.?

If we need to simplify the way we look at an elastomer material, think of it as spaghetti. An endless set of chemical chains are bonded together via bridges (Generally, sulfur is the element that creates those bridges) in order to gain their elastic behavior.?To have an elastomer product that can be used in real-life cases, it needs to pass through a vulcanization process, where cross-linking happens.

Now let’s go through what a typical F1 rubber compound contains. First of all, we have the base of the compound which is a mix of synthetic rubbers such as SBR (Styrene-butadiene Rubber) and natural rubber.

To activate the vulcanization of this mix, we need Zinc Oxide (ZnO) and Sulfur to facilitate the cross-linking mechanism and add to this the reaction accelerator.

Carbon black and silica are also used in order to reinforce the tire compound and enhance its mechanical properties. For F1 tires, you may also find Kevlar and Carbon fiber to further enhance the rigidity.?

To top it off, we add antioxidants and other agents to the mix to prevent degradation through environmental factors.?

What’s on the menu for an F1?Team?

Pirelli offers a selection of 6 main slick compounds (C0 to C5) and 2 wet configurations (Intermediates and Wet). Before each race they run simulations, and complemented with data from each F1 team they select 3 compounds to run for each weekend.?

It is easier to look at the compound variants from this angle: C5 is the softest one (Faster but higher degradation) and C0 is the hardest option (Slower but lower degradation).?

The 3 configurations are labeled as soft, medium, and hard compounds.

What strategy to adopt?

F1 teams select tires based on their strategy. Per regulations, each F1 team has to make at least one pitstop in each race. The fewer pitstops you make the more chance you have to win the race. That’s why you need to position your pitstop in an intelligent way.

Generally, race engineers use a multitude of parameters to define this piece of information. From air temperature and suspension compression/rebound parameters to the track surface type, technical parameters such as those affect the longevity of a tire.?

Enter into the equation the driver’s position in the race and the team’s idea of how to tackle the problem of getting and holding on to P1 till the checkered flag, make this decision a tad more complicated.?

The checkered flag!

In conclusion, Formula 1 tires are an engineering piece of art. It unites mechanical engineering and chemistry to induce adrenaline into the motorsport’s spectators.?

What’s more fascinating is that you, as a spectator, can follow the cycle of an F1 tire through the graphs provided by AWS where you can follow the degradation visually and through data analytics.?

And now, you know why F1 tires get torn apart while running through multiple unforgiving laps. I hope that you liked this article, please feel free to share your opinion.?

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