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Formula One returns to Barcelona
– which hosted two of the 2015 pre-season tests – but this time the weather will be much warmer, placing even greater
demands on the tyres.
Coupled with high-energy corners and the roughest asphalt seen all year,
this makes the P Zero Orange hard and P Zero White medium the ideal choice
for the Spanish Grand Prix, where the GP2 and GP3 Series will also compete
on Pirelli tyres.
Paul Hembery, Pirelli motorsport director: “Spain is obviously one of
the more familiar venues that we go to, as there has already been plenty of
data gathered during testing. One of the things we have noticed so far is
that this year Barcelona will once again be a front-limited circuit, from a
tyre perspective. Last year, the increase in traction and torque from the
cars meant that for the first time the race became a rear-limited event,
with the useful life of the rear tyres dictating the pit stop strategy.
Thanks to the improvements we made to the rear tyre construction for this
year, we’re back to Barcelona being a front-limited circuit again. However,
we do not expect this to mean that there will necessarily be more pit stops
this year: last year the majority of competitors used a two-stop strategy
and that will probably be the case again. The biggest unknown factor will be
the weather: in the past we have seen some very hot weather in Barcelona, but it isn’t always
guaranteed. The start of the European season traditionally means that many
teams bring important upgrades, and it will be very interesting to see how
these interact with our 2015 tyres.”
The biggest challenges for the tyres:
Controlling wear and degradation is the biggest challenge, as Montmelo is a
circuit that takes a lot out of the tyres due to long high-speed corners and
several fast changes of direction. In particular, the left side of the car
gets the biggest workout (the lateral forces acting on both left tyres are
the second highest of the entire season) with the front-left tyre being the
most stressed.
The cars run high downforce in Barcelona in order to stay planted to the
track during the fast corners and this force pushing down onto the car
increases the load going through the tyres. As a result of all these
factors, tread temperatures can peak at nearly 130 degrees centigrade.
Eight out of the last 10 races have been won from pole position in Spain
(and only one from outside the first row of the grid). This underlines the
difference that strategy could make on a circuit that the teams all know
very well, where racing is always close.
Pirelli will bring tyres for GP2 and GP3 to Spain, as well as tyres for the
two-day test that follows the grand prix on Tuesday and Wednesday. This
means that nearly 4000 tyres will be brought to Barcelona, carried by a
fleet of 14 trucks (including the trucks that make up Pirelli’s hospitality
unit).
Last year’s strategy and how the race was won: Last year the top three all
used a two-stop strategy, while the highest-placed three-stopper was
Sebastian Vettel in fourth for Red Bull (having started from 15th on the
grid). Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the race from his team mate Nico
Rosberg, using a medium-medium-hard strategy. Rosberg tried a different type
of two-stopper: medium-hard-medium.
Expected performance gap between the two compounds: 0.8 -1.2 seconds per
lap. Expected weather conditions for the race: Dry and warm, peaking at 25
degrees centigrade but dropping to 13 degrees centigrade overnight. Some
overcast intervals leading up to the race, but bright and clear for race
day.
The Pirelli team choose their race numbers: #6, Khaled Jnifen (F1 activation
and sponsorship manager) “My number would be 6. I was the sixth child in our
family; when I played sport as a kid I always chose the number 6, and it’s
stuck with me ever since.”
Who we’re following on Twitter this week: @jensonbutton. McLaren’s loss was
the rest of the world’s gain when Jenson couldn’t start the Bahrain Grand
Prix and turned to Twitter instead. He provided the sort of unique insight
that’s never been seen before during a race on social media. An essential
driver to follow, set for a glittering career in communications once his
driving days are over. |
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