Eli5 – F1 cars have smooth tyres for grip yet on a normal car this would be certain death. Why do smooth tyres give F1 cars more grip yet normal cars less grip?

Question

Eli5 – F1 cars have smooth tyres for grip yet on a normal car this would be certain death. Why do smooth tyres give F1 cars more grip yet normal cars less grip?

In: 3088

Answer 1

The larger the area of the contact patch, the greater the possible traction. Racing slicks maximize the contact area. The reason these are not used on consumer vehicles is that roads can be wet, whereas racing is only conducted under very controlled dry track conditions. Once you have water on the road surface, a thin layer of water can be trapped between the tire and the road surface, causing the tire to hydroplane. Tire treads are designed to channel and expel water to the sides of the tire in order to keep the tread blocks in contact with the road. This is a safety issue because day to day consumer driving conditions are not controlled the way that they are on a race track.