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Just one week after the British
Grand Prix at Silverstone, Pirelli heads to another legendary venue in
motorsport: the Nurburgring in Germany. The tyre nomination is the P Zero
White medium and P Zero Yellow soft: a combination not seen since the
Chinese Grand Prix in April. However, Pirelli will bring Kevlar-belted rear
tyres for both the medium and soft compound to Germany, which have already
been tested at the Friday practice sessions in Canada. This moves comes
after a series of tyre failures at last week’s British Grand Prix which, as
Pirelli has now been able to establish, were caused by a combination of
factors like the rear tyres mounted the wrong way around, low tyre
pressures, extreme cambers and high kerbs. Even though the 2013
specification of the Pirelli Formula One tyres are completely safe when used
in the correct way, the company prefers to bring Kevlar-belted rear tyres to
the Nurburgring, as it is a tyre easier to manage.
Paul Hembery: “Surprisingly, the Nurburgring is one of the circuits
that we have the least experience of, having only raced there once before in
Formula One, but we’re certain that we have chosen the correct compromise
between performance and durability by bringing the medium and soft
compounds. These were actually the same compounds that we chose for this
track in 2011, but since then the tyres have got softer and faster, so we
would expect a quicker race time with an average of three pit stops for most
drivers. The Nurburgring is not on the whole an especially demanding circuit
for tyres but there are still some distinctive aspects to look out for when
it comes to tyre management, such as the kerbing on the chicanes. We are
expecting a performance gap of 0.8-1.0 second between the two nominated
compounds, which should make the strategy options versatile. For this race
only, we will bring Kevlar-belted rear tyres, following the incidents at the
British Grand Prix. Even though the 2013 high-performance steel-belted
version is completely safe when used correctly, the Kevlar-belted version is
easier to manage and as long as there is no system in place which allows us
to enforce tyre related specifications, like tyre pressures or camber, the
incorrect use of which were contributing factors of the tyre failures in
Silverstone, we prefer to bring a less sophisticated tyre. From the
Hungarian Grand Prix onwards there will be a completely new range of tyres,
combining the characteristics of our 2012 tyres with the increased
performance of the 2013 specification.”
Jean Alesi: “The Nurburgring is a legendary name but personally I
never found the modern circuit particularly involving, although it has
changed a lot during the years. It’s a circuit that tends to be quite kind
to tyres, so the question of tyre management isn’t a big one: you just drive
as hard as you like. There’s always been a good atmosphere though as the
fans are very enthusiastic, and I am sure that is just the same now. You
have quite a variety of different corners in the lap so it’s mostly a
question of finding a good rhythm and stringing them together in the most
efficient way. I always thought of Nurburgring as a reasonably
straightforward race: it’s not so much a big challenge but more a test of
precision and not making any mistakes. If you start in a good grid position
and have a clean race you should come away with a good result: you don’t
often see big surprises. That’s unless it rains of course: then anything can
happen…”
The circuit from a tyre point of view:
Built next door to the legendary Nordschleife, the modern Nurburgring is a
fast and flowing circuit that is mostly made up of medium speed corners,
with a technical infield section as well. One of the big variables in the
region will once more be the weather, so a versatile tyre selection is
essential in order to cope with a potential wide range of temperatures.
There are a number of reasonably fast direction changes at the Nurburgring.
This increases the amount of lateral energy going through the tyres and
therefore heat build-up. That is the biggest reason for wear and degradation
on the tyres at the Nurburgring rather traction and braking events, which
are on the whole limited.
Frequent rain in the area means that the track is often more ‘green’ than
other circuits, particularly at the start of the weekend, as the moisture
washes away any rubber that has been deposited on the track. With more
rubber laid down, grip increases and wear decreases. With no tyre data from
last year on this circuit, the work of the teams during free practice will
be particularly important when it comes to assessing how the latest 2013
tyres react in different temperatures and with different fuel loads. The
information gathered on Friday, which is confirmed in the final free
practice session on Saturday morning, essentially decides the strategy for
qualifying and the race.
Technical tyre notes:
The first corner is particularly challenging at the Nurburgring,
particularly after the start where it is often the scene of accidents. Under
acceleration out of it, the back of the car can step out, placing heavy
demands on the rear tyres – as they need to guarantee a combination of grip
and traction on one of the most technical parts of the circuit that is key
to a fast lap time.
Turn seven is also particularly tricky: there is a deceleration of 5g
heading into it and the front-left tyre has to do a lot of work here to
compensate for the unusual camber of the circuit.
One of the keys to a quick lap is negotiating the kerbing correctly at the
NGK Chicane. The drivers hit the kerbs hard, which puts a force equivalent
to 800 kilogram's through the tyre.
Meet the Pirelli F1 Team:
Alexandra Schieren, Head of F1 Communications
Alexandra was born and raised in a small town 25 kilometres from Cologne in
Western Germany. She studied languages and gained a diploma in translation,
but her first job with a connection to motorsport was as an assistant in the
media and PR department of Toyota Team Europe in Cologne: which at the time
was a major force in the World Rally Championship. Her role came to an
abrupt end when Toyota was disqualified from the series for cheating (she
had nothing to do with that) and she then moved to London with a job in a
communications agency where she tasted a wide variety of motorsport, from
International Touring Cars to GT to Formula One. After a few years in London
she moved to Paris and was later recruited by the FIA – world motorsport’s
governing body – as Media Delegate for Formula One. When Pirelli returned to
Formula One in 2011, Alexandra was asked to look after all Formula
One-related communication. This involves answering general media requests,
organising interviews and media events, overseeing external communications,
and working with other departments within Pirelli and the various Pirelli
markets. Alexandra lives in the countryside just outside Paris – a pleasant
contrast to the often hectic lifestyle of Formula One – and enjoys reading
books in different languages to expand her knowledge, with Italian being top
of the list at the moment. She loves being in different places, just hates
flying to have to get there…
Other news from Pirelli:
Pirelli chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera picked up the ‘2013 Social
Responsibility Award’ on behalf of Pirelli from the Foreign Policy
Association in New York last week. The award reflects Pirelli’s consistent
leadership of the Dow Jones sustainability index in the auto parts and tyre
sector.
Pirelli hosted its home round of the Superbike World Championship at Imola
last weekend, round seven of the series that is exclusively supplied by the
Italian firm. Tom Sykes won both races, catapulting the British driver to
the top of the standings.
The latest round of the Pirelli-equipped British Rally Championship, the
all-gravel Scottish Rally, took place last weekend. Alastair Fisher won in a
Citroen DS3 R3T: a car that he also drives on the Pirelli-backed Citroen Top
Driver Series on the World Rally Championship.
The third round of the Pirelli-backed Blancpain Endurance Series took place
at Paul Ricard in France. Marc VDS Racing Team’s Maxime Martin, Bas Leinders
and Yelmer Buurman took their first win of the season in a Pirelli-supported
BMW Z4.
Pirelli also competed in the world’s highest race: the famed Pikes Peak
International Hill Climb in Colorado (USA) that finishes at an altitude of
4,300 metres. The Pirelli-shod Porsche 911 of Californian Jeff Zwart
finished third in its class and 10th overall. |
