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P Zero Yellow and P Zero Red under the
lights of Singapore
WHAT’S THE STORY?
Pirelli’s P Zero Yellow soft tyres and P Zero Red supersoft have been
nominated for the Marina Bay circuit in Singapore, the only race of the year
that takes place at night. This produces some unusual variables, with the
Formula One paddock living on European time (as every session takes place
six hours later than it does usually) and ambient and track temperatures
that tend to fall, rather than rise, during the course of the grand prix.
One constant is the humidity, which tends to remain within 75% to 90%
throughout the weekend. Marina Bay is a street circuit where traction is
critical as it contains the second-highest number of corners (23) seen all
year. The asphalt tends to be bumpy and slippery, and grip is further
compromised by street furniture such as manhole covers and painted white
lines.
Nonetheless, the cars manage to generate up to 4.3g under braking despite
the lack of adhesion. With 61 5.073-kilometre laps, which are run
anti-clockwise, the race tends to come close to the full two-hour time
limit, so coupled with the heat, humidity and constant bumps, this makes it
a very physical experience for the drivers as well as tough on the cars and
tyres. In the opening sequence of corners from turns one to three for
example, there is a double change in direction that places particularly
heavy demands on the tyres. The driver tends to leave the braking as late as
possible, turning in and decelerating at the same time. This subjects the
tyre to both longitudinal and lateral forces at the same time, working the
structure hard. The integrity of the construction though guarantees the
driver optimal precision and perfect adhesion to the racing line: vital in
the tight confines of Singapore, where mistakes rarely go unpunished.
Pirelli’s motorsport director says:
Paul Hembery: “Personally speaking I love the Singapore Grand Prix: it makes
for an amazing spectacle at night with a great atmosphere and a fantastic
challenge for our tyres. Due to the unusual circumstances in which the race
is run, under more than a thousand spotlights, the teams and drivers have to
think very hard about strategy – as track conditions and evolution are
somewhat different than you would find in a normal daytime race. One factor
that could certainly come into play is safety cars: during every single
Singapore Grand Prix that has been held so far since 2008 the safety car has
come out at some point. This means that strategies have to be flexible as
well as effective in order to quickly take advantage of any potential
neutralisation. While the humidity is constantly high, it hasn’t yet rained
in any Singapore Grand Prix so this should be the same again this year and
we are likely to see the ultimate performance offered by the two softest
slick compounds in our Formula One range. Last year’s race was won with a
three-stop strategy by Sebastian Vettel, but Lewis Hamilton finished fifth
after stopping four times and taking a drive-through penalty as well. As
average speeds are not very high, degradation should not be an issue if
wheelspin is controlled out of the slower corners, which can lead to
overheating.”
The men behind the steering wheel say:
Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham): “Singapore is a very cool race. It’s an
amazing place to have a grand prix and it must be incredible for the fans,
watching the cars running flat out through the streets at night. In the
cockpit it’s really no different to a normal street race: the lights are so
good we don’t have any problems with visibility. But I’ve seen the TV images
from above the track and the overhead shots from the helicopters with the
whole circuit lit up, which are pretty hardcore!
From a technical point of view one of the keys to set-up in Singapore track
is finding good braking stability and maximum traction. It’s a high
downforce track that is hard on brake temperatures and still pretty bumpy,
especially around turns 13 and 14, even after it was resurfaced in 2010.
We’ll have the soft and supersoft Pirelli P Zero tyre compounds in
Singapore, just like we did in Monaco, and while it will be hotter in
Singapore than it was in Monte Carlo it’s likely to be similar in terms of
degradation. All year tyre management has been key to performance and I
think hotter track temperatures and the nature of the track might suit us.
It did in Monaco, so hopefully we can have a similar race in Singapore as we
did back in May.”
Pirelli’s test driver says:
Jaime Alguersuari: “Singapore has high thermal degradation because of the
high temperatures, but the main thing that everyone notices is the humidity,
which is one of the factors that makes it such a tough race for the drivers.
Soft and supersoft is a very good choice for this track: it’s nice to get
back to the softer compounds after the recent races on the harder ones, as
you get so much performance from them. The feeling in Singapore is a little
bit like Monte Carlo but actually more fun as there are more opportunities
to overtake. I don’t think you could try a one-stop strategy like Monaco
though: instead I think we will see two stops. Having said that, the actual
tyre degradation itself is low and that is because there is not so much
energy going through them, because while there are lot of corners they are
all quite slow.”
Technical tyre notes:
The cars start the Singapore Grand Prix with the heaviest fuel load of the
year, which affects tyre wear at the beginning of the race in particular. As
well as being a long race, fuel consumption per kilometre is one of the
highest of the year due to the stop-start nature of the circuit. Around half
the lap is spent on full throttle, but there are also several braking areas.
One of the toughest corners for the tyres is Singapore Sling, which comes
after the longest straight of the lap. Although it’s not the fastest corner
the drivers use the kerbs to carry more speed, with the tyres hitting the
kerbing hard at around 130kph.
An important factor affecting the race strategy is the time needed to make a
pit stop. Singapore has one of the highest pit stop times of the year, due
to a lower pit lane speed limit than most races (60kph) and a 404-metre pit
lane.
Pirelli in Singapore:
Pirelli offers its full range of premium road car tyres through an extensive
dealership network in Singapore, ranging from the P Zero family of Ultra
High Performance tyres to the Cinturato P1, which is designed to combine
maximum durability with environmentally friendly technology.
Pirelli is also represented in the support races for the Singapore Grand
Prix. The Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli will conclude its five-round Asia
Pacific series this year in Marina Bay. Around 32 570- horsepower Ferraris
are expected to take the start on identical Pirelli tyres. The GP2 Series
also supports the Singapore Grand Prix for the first time.
Other news from Pirelli:
Pirelli has been names world leader in the Autoparts and Tyres section of
the Dow Jones Sustainability World and Dow Jones Sustainability Europe
Indices for the sixth consecutive year, with a score of 86 points compared
with a sector average score of 53.
Pirelli tyres were in action once more last week at the young driver test in
Magny-Cours, France, with Ferrari, Force India and Mercedes taking part. The
three-day test was affected by rain on the final day, meaning that the young
drivers had the opportunity to sample the full range of Pirelli tyres in a
wide variety of conditions.
A further development test for Pirelli’s Formula One, GP2 and GP3 tyres took
place last week in Barcelona, Spain. Jaime Alguersuari, Giacomo Ricci and
Ben Hanley were the drivers at the test, which concentrated on the 2013 tyre
range.
Peugeot Italy driver Paolo Andreucci won the latest round of the Italian
Rally Championship, Rally San Martino di Castrozza, last weekend. The
Italian used Pirelli’s RX rally tyres, which performed effectively in a wide
range of temperatures on the all-asphalt event. Pirelli also won the Prime
Rally Yalta, a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, with Yagiz
Avci in a Ford Fiesta S2000. |
