Controlling tire inflation pressures continues to be a sensitive issue in modern Formula 1. The teams are in fact constantly looking for maximum performance, with some teams adopting a strategy set to minimize pressure to maximize the contact footprint of the tire on the ground and with it the mechanical grip. Other teams, on the other hand, prefer to adopt pressures higher than the minimum values prescribed by Pirelli, in order to better stabilize the aerodynamic platform. The deformation of the rubber is in fact accompanied by the elastic elements of the suspension, outlining a single large assembly through which the car body is suspended on the ground. Increasing the overall stiffness of this suspension unit can prove useful in maximizing load generation by current single-seaters, which are even more sensitive to height variations than in the past.
The challenge for Pirelli and the FIA is therefore to find a balance between the freedom granted to teams to diversify their tire exploitation strategies and impose safety restrictions on this field of action. An important reference parameter is the running pressure, i.e. the inflation pressure monitored when the car is running, not to be confused with the starting pressure measured in the pits. Mario Isoladirector of Pirelli motorsport, revealed to FormulaPassion.it such as the running pressure, monitored by the Italian company but currently free from prescriptions, could be subject to taxation in the second part of the championship: “There is a standard sensor but it is not yet monitored. Among other things, we don’t receive the data live like the FIA, but we download it after the race. We are thinking about the evolution curve of the pressures during the march to understand if in the second part of the season it is necessary to introduce a control system also to the stabilizers in motion. Since the middle of last year, when we have introduced additional controls in addition to the pure initial static pressures, providing reference gear values, checking cold pressures and generally carrying out many more checks, the system works better. The further step would be to check the running pressures through a standard sensor, but before doing so, you have to go and see the characteristics of the instrument, what its signal is and what its mortality is. Clearly, if out of 10 standard sensors only 5 worked, it would become difficult. There are some aspects that, before applying a rule, you must be sure that they do not create problems ”.
Running pressure would be added to the other three parameters for which Pirelli prescribes limit values on the eve of each Grand Prix: “We impose three parameters. The first is the starting pressurethat is the static starting pressure; the end of straight camberthat is referred to the condition of maximum load at the end of the straight; the maximum temperatures of the electric blankets. These are the three imposed parameters. Stabilized running pressure is a parameter that we have introduced so that the teams are aware of what our goal is in terms of tire working conditions, but it is not imposed or controlled by the FIA. If, on the other hand, a team breaks the static starting pressure prescription and this is verified by the Federation, it could trigger the signaling to the commissioners, a possible disqualification or whatever they decide “. It is precisely the minimum values of the static pressures that Pirelli has used up to now to indirectly control the running pressures, progressively increasing the requirements for the starting pressure: “The cars are strong, the performances are high, perhaps more than initially thought and despite the fact that many components have been standardized and the temperatures of the electric blankets have been lowered.and, the teams are very good at not increasing the pressure between the static and running conditions so much. Since what interests us is that the running pressure reaches a certain level, during the races thanks to the data collected we had seen that this growth was lower than we had estimated and therefore we raised the initial static pressures a little to balance this. effect”.
The data collected in the upcoming races will therefore determine whether the FIA and Pirelli will impose limit values for the running pressures in the second half of the championship or not. Much will also depend on the evolution of current cars and the pressure management strategies adopted by the teams.
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