|
Post by wilmywood8455 on Nov 10, 2022 13:44:29 GMT -8
In assessing the respective performance patterns of the Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes this season, a lot of attention has been focused on their differing aerodynamic traits and how these are better or worse suited to each track layout. But relatively little has been discussed about a performance factor that’s at least as significant: how each of the RB18, F1-75 and W13 uses its tyres.There are myriad factors feeding into tyre behaviour – notably weight distribution, suspension geometry, tyre pressures and brake bias – but perhaps the most crucial of all is how the brakes are used to indirectly control the tyre temperature via the wheel rims. It is an incredibly complex subject. The tyre’s optimum temperature (depending upon compound) is between 100-150 degrees C. The carbon brake discs around six inches away run at between 500-1,000-deg C. The requirement is to keep the tyres within their quite narrow operating temperature window, which is trickier to do with the undriven front tyres than the driven rears. The focus with cooling of the rear tyres is simply to divert the brake heat out and away from the wheel rim, but at the front sometimes it is advantageous to transfer more of that heat into the tyres in order that they come up to temperature in time for a qualifying lap, a race start or restart. Brake ducts are used to channel the air as required. Those at the front, because their task is more complex than those at the rear, tend to be of a more intricate design – and this is where we see a big variation between the Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes.
|
|