For the Formula 1 teams to be able to secure their wins, they need to ensure that they have the right tyres for the conditions that prevail at the day of the race. Head of the Mercedes team, Toto Wolff, believes tyres have become the single most important factor in the F1 title fight between Mercedes and Ferrari.
For those following F1, will know how important the tyres are and how often the dreams are crushed because of the tyres. The teams will optimise their strategies based on how many pit stops are needed for change of tyres. We often see tyres blow or not enough grip due to worn out tyres. So proper tyre management and maintenance is key for performance.
Tyres for the Race
All cars have 3 different compounds of slick tyres for each race and 2 wet threaded tyres. The slicks have different hardness, the harder have less grip but are more durable and the soft have great grip but wear out quickly. It is the same supplier for all the tyres for all the cars participating. How you manage your tyres and when to make the stops to change tyres are critical for the success of the race.
General Tyres
For our normal cars we are not able to change tyres that frequently, so we are more dependent on our initial choice. Selecting the correct tyre is important both for the safety as well as the performance. We need tyres that are good both for dry condition as well as rainy conditions. If you have winter conditions, then you of course also need a tyre that is available to handle those circumstances. You do however have the possibility to change tyres between the seasons. So make the best of this, to ensure that you have the correct tyre for the season you will face.