|
The penultimate race of the
season is the United States Grand Prix, which was held for the first time in
Texas last year. This season, the same tyre nomination has been made: P Zero
Orange hard and P Zero White medium.
Austin is an extremely varied circuit, which puts plenty of energy through
the tyres by alternating fast and flowing sections with some slower and more
technical parts.
It’s a very good test of a tyre’s all-round ability, with traction demands
out of slow corners just as important as lateral grip through the high-speed
changes of direction that are another key characteristic of the
5.513-kilometre Circuit of the Americas.
Paul Hembery: “The hard and medium tyres are the best choice for the
United States Grand Prix, because it’s a circuit that places several
high-energy demands on the tyres, so you need the most durable compounds in
the range. There are some fast corners and many rapid elevation changes as
well: in that respect it’s a bit like Spa. When you have more energy going
through the tyre, you have a bigger heat build-up – which is what increases
wear and degradation. Now that we’re coming to the USA for the second time
we have a better idea of what to expect, whereas last year – when we also
nominated the hard and the medium – it was much more of a step into the
unknown. This year’s compounds are softer, so we would expect around two pit
stops in the race, depending also on the rate of track evolution. Even
though it’s November we’re still likely to have warm weather, which
obviously affects thermal degradation too. Formula One received an
absolutely fantastic welcome from the American public last year, which made
it a truly memorable race, and we’re very much looking forward to going back
to a country full of great F1 fans, which is also a key market for our Ultra
High Performance tyres.”
Jean Alesi: “The United States Grand Prix in 1990 was actually my
very first grand prix on Pirelli tyres, with the Tyrell, and it turned out
to be a very good race for me. It was the first grand prix of my first full
season, so always one that I’m going to remember. Back then, American
Formula One circuits were mostly street circuits, and this one in Phoenix
was no exception. Also, the rules on tyre development were completely open:
the dimensions were fixed but apart from that the manufacturers could do
what they wanted. With Pirelli, we could go the entire race without
stopping, whereas the others had to stop. And this was key to our strong
performance that surprised so many people: I led the race for several laps
and in the end finished second only to Ayrton Senna in the much more
powerful McLaren-Honda! And that was the difference that the tyres made. Of
course the United States Grand Prix now is very different. The first year of
Austin in 2012 was a real show, with special guests ranging from actors to
astronauts, and it was fantastic to see the American people take so
enthusiastically to Formula One. It really wasn’t like that in my day, when
there was not so much interest in F1 in America. Austin looks like an
exciting track to drive as well, which obviously helps. One of the details
that I think everybody remembers is Pirelli’s cowboy hats on the podium:
these were really a lot of fun…”
The circuit from a tyre point of view:
Just like Abu Dhabi, Austin is one of the few circuits on the calendar to
run in an anti-clockwise direction. Other anti-clockwise circuits are Korea,
Singapore and Brazil. The track surface at Austin, which was new last year,
is generally quite smooth. However, with the passage of time, surfaces
generally tend to become a bit more abrasive year by year. This happens as
the bitumen at the very top is swept away, exposing the small stones out of
which the asphalt is made.
Technical tyre notes:
There are two key areas that particularly challenge the tyres at the Austin
Circuit. The first is Turn 1, which is unusually a hairpin, where the tyres
have to provide optimal traction – even when cold on an out-lap. Turn 11 is
also particularly demanding as the driver starts braking heavily with the
car already turning, creating an uneven distribution of forces across the
tyres. Good grip from the compound is
essential for an effective turn-in.
The cars will run with low gearing and medium downforce: a set-up that is
not dissimilar to the one that was formerly used for the Turkish Grand Prix
at Istanbul – which has a few points in common with the Circuit of the
Americas.
The top three finishers in America last year (Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian
Vettel and Fernando Alonso) used a one-stop strategy, starting on the medium
tyre and ending on the hard. Last year there was around half a second of lap
time difference between the two compounds; this year that should be slightly
bigger.
Meet the Pirelli F1 Team: Ilaria Parolari, personal assistant to Paul
Hembery
Ilaria was born in Italy near Como but grew up to close to Milan, where she
is based now. Ilaria studied languages and has been part of Pirelli since
2004. Before moving into motorsport, she worked in Pirelli’s travel and
logistics department but was always a fan of racing cars. Then, after
Pirelli entered Formula One in 2011, Ilaria was offered a role as Paul’s PA.
Her priority is to take care of all activities related to Paul’s business
needs, managing his diary and organizing every aspect of his life: meetings,
travel, speeches and other commitments – both in the office in Milan and on
the track all over the world. Ilaria works in collaboration with all the
many other departments involved in motorsport: during each grand prix week
she takes care of all the VIP guests and manages the guest tours in the
paddock. And if that weren’t enough, she’s also in charge of requests for F1
passes and managing the paddock passes during every grand prix week. Which
makes her a person in demand…
She doesn’t have much spare time, but when she’s at home enjoys seeing her
family – especially her twin sister – and likes art exhibitions, concerts
and clubbing.
“Above all I’m a very positive person,” says Ilaria. “When I’m upset people
notice it, but I try and make sure that doesn’t happen very often. Normally
I’m smiling all the time!”
Other news from Pirelli:
For the first time, the Pirelli-equipped GP2 and GP3 Series held a joint
test, for three days after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, from Tuesday to
Thursday. McLaren Formula One junior driver Stoffel Vandoorne set the GP2
pace with a time of 1m48.657s posted on the evening of the final day in a
DAMS car. A number of this year’s GP3 drivers also sampled GP2 machinery at
the test, such as Pirelli’s prize-winner Facu Regalia.
In GP3, Patric Niederhauser
topped the time sheets thanks to a time of 1m55.372s, set on Thursday
afternoon. Niederhauser, who drove for MW Arden at the test, was one of this
year’s existing GP3 competitors. By way of comparison, Mark Webber’s pole
position at this year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was 1m39.957s. Both the GP2 and
GP3 series used the current specification of Pirelli tyre, running in the
daylight and also under the Abu Dhabi floodlights by night.
Pirelli has just won the prestigious ‘Top of Mind’ prize for the fifth
consecutive year in Brazil, which is the Italian firm’s biggest market. This
means that Pirelli has again been officially acknowledged as one of the most
recognised brands in the country by Brazil’s leading research institute. |
