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P Zero White and P Zero Yellow for
the last time
WHAT’S THE STORY?
The P Zero White medium tyre and the P Zero Yellow soft tyre have been
nominated for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this weekend, which follows straight
off the back of the Indian Grand Prix. Abu Dhabi marks the final time that
the soft tyre will be seen in competition this year, during which it has
proved itself to be Pirelli’s most versatile compound, appearing in 15 of
the 20 grands prix on the calendar.
Abu Dhabi marks a perfect send off that plays to its attributes: the surface
is fast and smooth and there is a wide variety of speeds and corners, in
keeping with the design philosophy of the circuit, which was to incorporate
many of the best features and layouts of other existing tracks.
Nonetheless, Yas Marina successfully comes together as a cohesive whole,
where tyre wear is low and the drivers can push hard from start to finish.
With plenty of test data from Abu Dhabi – including from the now traditional
young driver test, which will take place once more straight after the grand
prix with six teams this year – the teams have plenty of prior knowledge and
data from this spectacular circuit.
Yas Marina places specific demands on the tyres. The first part of the lap
consists of a flowing sequence of corners, where the car is subjected to
lateral forces of 4g, before there is a long straight where the cars remain
on full throttle for around 15 seconds and the tyres are subjected to a
downforce loading in the region of 800 kilogram's. In turn 11 the tyres
experience up to 5g under braking, while throughout the final sequence of
corners the tyre tread is progressively heated up, reaching a peak
temperature of approximately 120 degrees centigrade.
A peculiarity of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is that it starts in the afternoon
and continues until dusk, meaning that ambient and track temperatures tend
to fall, rather than rise as the race goes on – and this has an important
effect on tyre strategy.
As the circuit is not used extensively during the course of the year, a high
degree of track evolution is expected over the weekend. A dirty track causes
excessive wheelspin as the cars struggle for grip: this also increases tyre
wear. Generally though, the surface of the Buddh circuit is quite smooth,
which means that degradation is contained.
Pirelli’s motorsport director says:
Paul Hembery: “We will always have very fond memories of the Abu Dhabi
circuit because it is where our adventure in Formula One really started:
back in 2010, the teams sampled our tyres there for the very first time at
the official end of season test following the grand prix. That was a very
special test, as we were brand new and the teams needed to understand our
tyres. We’ve returned to test in Abu Dhabi a few times since, and we
actually launched our 2012 programme to the international media there as
well at the beginning of this year. The reason why we’ve often chosen Abu
Dhabi for our testing and for other functions is because it has a bit of
everything, which enables each aspect of a tyre’s performance to be
thoroughly assessed, and because the track itself features some very modern,
state-of-the-art facilities. We know that the combination of the medium and
the soft tyre works extremely well here, and with the teams also having
plenty of data about the circuit characteristics, they should be in a strong
position to construct some race strategies that will make a real difference
to the outcome of the weekend. With the championship so closely balanced
now, having the right strategy could quite literally decide the title.
Qualifying is also really important in Abu Dhabi, so we are expecting to see
some strong efforts throughout the three qualifying sessions on Saturday.”
The men behind the steering wheel say:
Vitaly Petrov (Caterham F1 Team): “Abu Dhabi’s a great place to race:
there’s always good support from Russian fans who make the trip there and
I’ve enjoyed the challenge of racing on a track that has a bit of everything
– the flat out section in the first sector, the tighter corners heading
towards the hotel and what is almost a street circuit layout as we go around
the hotel and back towards the start-finish straight. It’s also cool racing
on a track where we start in the afternoon but finish with the sun down. For
the fans it’s a great place to watch F1 and what I’ve seen on TV looks
great, particularly around the hotel. Technically one of the main challenges
is to get the braking right. We spend a lot of time working on braking
stability and when you’re on track you can make up, and lose, a lot of time
if you don’t attack the braking zones – but the added challenge with that is
managing the tyres. We’ll have the medium and soft compounds for the race
and with track evolution as high as it is over the weekend you need to make
sure you look after the tyres as much as possible so you can get the most
out of every set in each session. Overall it’s a race I’m looking forward to
and hopefully we can make a bit more progress there and put on a good show
for everyone watching.”
Pirelli’s test driver says:
Lucas di Grassi: ““Abu Dhabi is one of those races that is as much of a
challenge for the engineers as it is for the drivers. It’s all about car
balance and getting that right: the driver doesn’t make as much of a
difference as he can do in places like Spa and Suzuka, for instance. In
terms of infrastructure, Abu Dhabi for me is the best circuit in the world:
it’s a great place for people to watch Formula One cars, with a little bit
of everything and a spectacular setting. Tyre wear is not such a big issue
in Abu Dhabi – good traction is the most important consideration – but the
work done in free practice will be even more important than usual, as it
will be vital for the teams to find a good balance on both compounds. The
difference in speed between them should be quite small if the car set-up is
right. With the championship coming to a close, everyone will be trying to
find the last tiny advantage, so from a technical and strategy point of view
it will be very interesting. With reasonably high ambient temperatures tyre
warm-up should not be a problem, even with the harder compound. I would
expect most teams to go with two pit stops, but some drivers might try
stopping just once.”
Technical tyre notes:
Abu Dhabi, like many circuits, requires a medium-downforce set-up to
guarantee good straight-line speed down the long main straight, which is
more than one kilometre, but also enough downforce to provide enough braking
stability and aerodynamic grip through the corners.
There are comparatively few high-speed changes of direction, so in order to
help traction, one of the key demands that the tyres face on the Yas Marina
circuit, the engineers tend to set up their cars with a comparatively soft
rear end. At the start of the weekend the dust on the track surface can
cause graining, and there is quite a high degree of track evolution.
Abu Dhabi is located at sea level, ensuring a high ambient air pressure.
This benefits engine power, which increases further as temperatures fall
towards the end of the race. This too has a significant effect on tyre wear
and strategy.
Pirelli in Abu Dhabi:
Pirelli launched its 2012 motorsport programme on the Abu Dhabi track in
January.
Pirelli became the very first company to run a Formula One car in wet
conditions at night, during a test at Abu Dhabi in January 2011, using a
circuit artificially dampened by 140,000 litres of water.
Pirelli’s Middle Eastern office is run out of Dubai. The best-selling tyres
in the region are the P Zero range, designed for performance and sports
cars, and the Scorpion Verde: the world’s first performance SUV tyre
designed with the environment in mind by helping to reduce fuel consumption
and CO2 emissions.
Other news from Pirelli:
Kevin Ceccon emerged fastest after a recent two-day GP3 test at Jerez,
running on Pirelli’s latest GP3 tyres for the new specification of car next
year. The Italian MW Arden driver emerged from the test more than a second
faster than his closest rival, after a session that was unusually affected
by rain – which enabled the drivers to run on the latest Cinturato rubber as
well.
Italian movie legend Sofia Loren has been announced as the ‘godmother’ of
the 2013 Pirelli calendar, which is being shot in Brazil. The 78-year-old
Loren last featured on the Pirelli calendar herself in 2007.
The unique work of Argentine artist Tomas Saraceno is being showcased in the
Hangar Bicocca: Pirelli’s cultural and arts space in Milan. It is one of the
most ambitious projects that the Hangar has hosted yet: Saraceno’s “On Space
Time Foam” installation consists of a plastic ‘cloud’ with a volume of 1200
metres cubed. |
