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The second half of the 2015
Formula One season gets underway with arguably the most epic circuit on the
calendar: Spa-Francorchamps, characterised by a long seven kilometre lap,
high speeds, sweeping changes of elevation, fast corners and variable
weather. To cope with this wide-ranging set of demands, the most versatile
tyres in the range are called for, which is why Pirelli has nominated the P
Zero White medium and P Zero Yellow soft: the most popular tyre combination
of all the grands prix held so far this year. The Cinturato intermediate and
wet tyres are also very likely to feature at some point during the Spa
weekend, given the region’s microclimate.
Paul Hembery, Pirelli motorsport director: “We have the same tyre
nomination for Spa as we did for the Hungaroring – which turned out to be
one of the most thrilling races of the season – but the two circuits present
a very marked contrast. Whereas Hungary was tight and twisty, Spa is open
and flat-out, making it a favourite among all the drivers. We’ve got plenty
of high-energy loads going through the tyres in many directions due to all
the different forces at work, but ambient temperatures still tend to be
quite low, so the soft and medium tyres represent the best compromise
between performance and durability. Spa is a race where anything can happen,
with a high incidence of safety cars and changing weather, so tyre strategy
is important, as well as each team’s ability to constantly read the race and
react quickly to any opportunities that present themselves. The recent Spa
24 Hours – which is our biggest event of the year – featured more changes of
lead than you could count,
as well as a succession of incidents and safety cars in the first half of
the race. That showcases just what a spectacular and unpredictable
competition this amazing circuit can regularly provide.”
The biggest challenges for the tyres:
Managing the amount of energy going through the tyres is one of the keys to
success at Spa. This consists of not only forces exerted through cornering,
braking, and acceleration but also the loads generated by the huge changes
in elevation, typified by the famous Eau Rouge-Raidillon complex (which
subjects the tyre structure and shoulder to an unparalleled 1g compression).
The biggest difficulty with the variable weather in Spa is that many
variations exist over the course of just a single lap, making it hard to
identify the correct tyre when it rains. It’s possible for one part of the
circuit to be completely soaked, but another part to be a hundred per cent
dry. Drainage is an issue, meaning that it’s easy to be caught out by
streams of water running across the track surface.
The medium tyre is a low working range compound, capable of achieving
optimal performance even at a wide range of low temperatures – which is
often the case at Spa. The soft tyre by contrast is a high working range
compound, suitable for higher temperatures.
Last year’s strategy and how the race was won: Daniel Ricciardo won
his second consecutive race for Red Bull (the third victory of his career)
using a two-stop strategy for the 44-lap race from fifth on the grid. He did
two stints on the soft tyre and a final stint on the medium tyre, stopping
on laps 11 and 26. He set the fastest lap of the race on the final tour with
the medium tyre, underlining the consistency of the compound even over a
long stint.
Expected performance gap between the two compounds: 1.8 - 2.0 seconds per
lap.
The Pirelli team choose their race numbers: #7, Anthony Peacock,
press office “As well as being Kimi Raikkonen’s race number it’s a number
most people pick as being lucky or significant: James Bond was 007, there
are seven seas, Snow White had seven dwarves and there are seven ancient
wonders, as well as deadly sins. Also seven appears three times in my birth
date.” |
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