Significance of Minor Details in F1. Part 1, Tyre wormers!

There is a lot in the sport of Formula 1 than meets the eye. Formula 1 is a sport that focuses on every minor detail there is, to gain an advantage however small it is. These minor details often go unnoticed or may be taken for granted by many. This is going to be a series where we will go over some of these things and try to understand its importance. First up are Tyre Warmers!

Tyre warmers, as the name suggests they do the job of keeping the tyres warm. Tyre warmers also known as tyre blankets, are those covers that you see the pit crew take off before the pit stops. Formula 1 cars are immensely powerful, to put that power down there are several things need to be considered.

Formula 1 cars depend on mechanical grip along with the aerodynamics to race around the track. Mechanical grip is called Traction. Tyre profile, tyre compounds, tread design, suspension all play a part in gaining traction. Traction determines how the car accelerates, decelerates, and goes around the corner. Another piece in the equation is tyre temperature.

Tyre is the only part of the car that meets the track, so it becomes an integral part of the car performance. F1 tyres are made from specially customised compounds by the tyre suppliers Pirelli. Tyres need to withstand the extreme forces put on them by the car but at the same time they need to be soft enough to maintain the grip. Unlike road tyres F1 tyres do not have any treads on them except the wet condition tyres.

These low profile, high resistant tyres though, only work at a certain temperature, around 100 to 120 degree Celsius. When tyres are heated the rubber becomes enough molten and malleable to grip on the track. Below that temperature tyres are in a rigid or glassy state. Driving when tyres are cold is like putting on plastic tyres instead of rubber, no grip or speed, which can also result in crashes and injuries.

So, when tyres are not on the car, they are put into tyres warmers that keep the temperature at 80 degree Celsius. When the new warm tyres are put on the car during the pit stops, it allows the drivers to worry less for the temperature and the grip and get up to speed losing as little time as possible. But sometimes even during the race tyres can lose temperature if the car is behind the safety car, that is when we see cars going in zig-zag motion, all to get temperature back in the tyres.

The first attempt to warm the tyres for the race was in 1974 Canadian Grand Prix. McLaren found a way to keep their garage and the tyres in it warm enough on a chilly day after facing concerns over lack of grip earlier in the weekend. Since then, there have been many attempts to keep the tyres warm including, Brabham and Gordon Murray’s plywood tyre tower heated by gas burners.

There have times when FIA planned to ban the use of tyre warmers and very nearly implemented. There are again talks of warmers will be banned in the new regulation from 2022. Tyre profile is also being changed to make tyre heating easier, all that remains is to see how teams live without tyre warmers if they are actually banned.  

Picture Credits 

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autosport.com