The tire degradation and management argument has always been up for discussion in the Formula 1 paddock, but no more than it is right now. So let’s discuss which direction is the right way to go for Formula 1 when it comes to tires in the future.
Tire saving has always been a major part of Formula 1 — of any racing series, in fact. But in today’s world, it seems to be placed under the microscope after every race. Complaints one weekend will be around the fact that the drivers were able to go too long into the race on a single set of tires, and then the complaints switch to the drivers having to do too much tire saving. Pirelli can’t win.
We all love good, hard racing. That is why we watch motorsport, is it not? But there needs to be the right balance when it comes to tire management. In other words, in the current state of Formula 1, one-stop strategies are way too common, and occasionally way too boring.
Hello Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. When the numbers are unable to be crunched and strategies are thrown in the air, the entertainment value of the races rise and rise. However, this is not a promotion for major tire degradation.
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Of course, tire degradation is not a bad thing. Look at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit, for example. Max Verstappen took an expert level of care to his tires and ultimately cruised to a victory, beating the dominant Mercedes team. But for many of those laps, he was unable to push as hard as we would have liked.
Formula 1 drivers should be flat-out. That is the simplest way to put it. During the early parts of the recent race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, won by Lewis Hamilton, the leading group were able to drive around on 60% effort. That is not good at all. There are other ways to stop this, however, which don’t revolve around the changing of the tires.
Valtteri Bottas’s engineer was effectively coaching him through the majority of the corners during the race, pointing out to his driver where he is taking too much out of the rubber, raising the temperature, blah blah blah. Let the drivers think for themselves. They are able to, otherwise they wouldn’t be where they are.
Sebastian Vettel proved that during this race, ultimately deciding on his own strategy and giving the team instructions. Formula 1 drivers don’t need coaching.
Anyway, back to the initial topic. Tire chat is never a fun chat, but it is a necessary one. As Hamilton stated recently, the tires need to be more racy. If we are all succumbed to one-stop strategies for the rest of our days, then at least allow the drivers to be able to push up until their pit stops.
Start the race, push every lap, stop and bolt a new set on and then push to the end. Simple. Sure, there isn’t much strategy involved, but it promotes more wheel-to-wheel racing, which is currently somewhat of a rarity up front.
Now let’s look on the other side, for those who love a good, mixed strategy. Again, the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix is a good example for this. High degradation causes some upsets, it causes multiple pit stops, and it racks the brains of the geniuses on the pit wall.
Predictability is the killer for all forms of motor racing, and two or three-stop strategies provide racing that is anything but that. It actually invites the slower teams to try an audacious one-stop and, if successful, they look like heroes, e.g. Charles Leclerc.
There will never be a common ground to this debate. Half of the fanbase will prefer one to the other, and then roles reversed.
Here is a question to ponder: would this discussion be as prominent if Mercedes hadn’t dominated in recent years? Was the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit “so good” simply because Mercedes had struggled and lost? Just a thought.
There is one option which some people are inevitably going to bring up. It is always mentioned when discussing anything in Formula 1 based on strategies.
Refueling.
Nope. No and no. Please never bring that back. Racing really was not any better with it; if anything, it was worse. Drivers could push on the out lap from the pits, and that was pretty much it.
However, the strategy word has already been mentioned several times and it will be again here. We were able to see some outrageous strategies, mainly by Ferrari, during this era, specifically Michael Schumacher’s four-stop strategy on his way to victory at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in 2004.
That was…different. But refueling was expensive, very expensive. And suddenly it is once again out of the discussion.
Pirelli have found themselves in a very tricky position. With a mixture of opinions and some shoddy work from their point of view, the tire chat will continue to ramble on until a middle ground is found, either making them raceable or not. Sadly, it is not that simple behind the scenes.