The Undercut

We've all heard and seen the effects that putting on fresh rubber has. What doesnt get with me is the fact that other teams seem to leave it so long after their rivals have pitted, example yesterday where RBR seemed to leave webber out for 2/3 laps longer than Alonso pretty much guarenting that he would be hehind the Ferrari.

While I accept that teams try and get the most of their tyres before a stop I dont understand why they just dont leave them out for that one lap where oposing teams getting used to the new rubber.

What are your thoughts?

 

It depends on whether the team want to respond to the driver pitting. The undercut might not always work - in some cases, pitting could leave you in a lot of traffic, or track temps could be too low, resulting in a slow outlap.

In Singapore, Webber had just overtaken Alonso and responding immediately could have put him right behind Alonso. Webber probably wanted clear air - and pitting a few laps later would mean that after he pitted, his tyres would be a few laps fresher than Alonso's - making a potential overtake much easier.

 

Yes, Forza makes some good points here Frimpong, but you ask a good question.

The reality is that it is a very complicated set of calculations, which can be influenced by all manner of things, even including differences in car set-ups. It is a dynamic situation which evolves very quickly and often holds lots of surprises, testing race management skills to their limits - and often beyond in McLaren's case! All sorts of variables are at play: for instance, an ever decreasing fuel load may allow a car to run further and perhaps even avoid an extra pit-stop if they can delay for a few more laps; and wear rates can vary significantly between drivers - even in the same team! The position of other cars on the circuit and the estimation of how they will play out will also be a big consideration, as Forza's reference to "traffic" says.

If all teams and drivers were on exactly the same strategies, the answer to your question would be simpler, since everyone would know roughly what everyone else was doing.

Another thing to bear in mind - which deals more directly with your sentence about staying out whilst others "are getting used to the new rubber" - is that usually the new rubber is immediately faster, in spite of a driver needing to accommodate the difference! This means that staying out an extra lap on the old tyre can easily lose a position, simply by being a little slower for only one extra lap! One more thing is that some teams may still need to use the 'slower' compound tyre, whilst their opponents have the fast one available - but which usually doesn't allow them to go so far.

It is a very complicated thing to get right. Just ask Martin Whitmarsh!

 

I think it can be quite easy, Two cars of similar performance are on the same piece of track the car behind can't overtake, the team spots a gap of clear track that the car behind can feed into, so they pit him he is then faster on good rubber and gains track position, the car behind also has the advantage because when he peels off into the pits it is to late for the lead car to do so.

 

The teams will form a number of strategies based on the data they gather during free practice sessions. Red Bull (in the case you mentioned) would have drawn up pitstop windows throughout race based on tyre wear. It may be that if Webber had pitted immediately after Alonso he would have ruled certain strategies out, a two-stopper for example, or maybe they could have used the same amount of stops but would have needed an extra stint on the prime tyre.

Another reason is that they could have been taken aback by Ferrari's decision to put Alonso onto the prime tyre so early. Red Bull were planning on using the primes last, but probably wanted to see how Alonso went. Also with Webber still being on the options RBR might have thought old option were slower than new primes.

Another factor is that they knew Ferrari would be slow later in the race (as they always are) and were confident they could jump him later on and were happy to stick to their strategy.

There's a lot of variables, and Webber finished ahead of Fernando anyway.

 

Also I don;t think Alonso's pit stop was planned, I think it was forced upon him by his tyres which seemed to lose all grip and hit the cliff about 6 or 7 corners before the pit entrance. Redbull knew then that Ferrari were having tyre wear problems from then on and would be reluctant to compromise their own strategy to cover off someone with a bit of a problematic car.

 

Ferrari is a strange car this year it can't get heat into its tyres very quickly and they wear out quickly what's that all about?

 

If a tyre does not generate the optimum heat, it does not give the optimum grip. If it is not gripping so well, it slides and scrubs more which wears it out faster whilst still not getting hot enough! Remember that we are not just talking of the tyre's surface but the whole tyre from inner carcass to sidewalls. If there is a significant disparity in temperature between various layers of the tyre, it can also cause it to blister or even shed its outer layer.

Generating the optimum temperature requires good grip in the first place, which then heats the tyre and allows it to become grippier still and progressively hotter until it reaches a design optimum. Going beyond this will also destroy the tyre very quickly - as Hamilton (for instance) knows to his cost.

 

they aren't the only ones, Mercedes don't seem to like their tyres either.

 

Maybe some of these teams should think about stealing sauber's blueprints, to find out how they've made their car so good on its tyres.

 

in the last few races, their strategy has been ****

 

Their strategy has been crap all year, but they can do these crap strategies because of the cars minimal tyre wear.

 

Maybe they should think about having a diversion valve on the exhaust which can be activated by the driver to transfer hot gases directly onto the the tyre when it is to cold such as at the start or after a pit stop or safety car.

To far out there that idea is it?

 

If Adrian Newey has an account on here, expect that to be read, and implemented on the RB8. It is a good idea, i'm suprised it hasn't been thought of.

 

I think RB already have something like that, I think it is just that there exhausts are very close to the tyres so they heat them up quickly which is why Vettel can always pull a big gap at the start or re-start.

 

It is strange how the Ferrari which is easy on its tyres, seems to suddenly not be so easy on them. Maybe the drivers are over pushing the cars to keep up at the moment.

 

Saubers secret is they are being too slow = less sliding = less tyre wear.

 

Maybe Sauber don't damage their tyres because the are so bloody slow they simply can't

 

It sounds a great idea but it is very important that the whole tyre warms evenly, whereas exhaust gases will only heat the outer surfaces - and burn them off very quickly! If you put a chicken in the oven at a very high temperature, it will look like a cinder before the inside is cooked!

 

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