Explain Like I’m 5 Please:
So. I do not understand the tyre rules during practice, quali and race day in F1. Why a certain number of switches and when to switch? How do the strategies work? I sound stupid, I know. I have been watching F1 since I was small but I was always too shy to ask much about the rules and technicalities of it. Also, having a learning disability makes understanding things a a bit tricky sometimes. When I did ask online other places (why did I ask/comment on Instagram??) I got laughed at so I just did not bother. I really do want to learn though, and deepen my knowledge, so any help is really appreciated! Thank you!! 🙂
In: Other
So there are 5 dry compounds, C1 being the hardest going up to C5 being the softest. Plus intermediate and wet tires. All are manufactured by Pirelli (the tire manufacturer).
Now, before each weekend, some decisions are made and provided to each driver before the weekend starts:
1. 3 tire compounds are chosen from the 5 available based on racing conditions by FIA and is a decision followed by all teams, for example, if C2 to C4 is chosen, C2 is considered the hard (colored white), C3 will become medium (colored yellow) and C4 the softest (colored red).
2. In a dry weekend (no rain), each driver is allowed 13 sets of dry tires (combination of hard, mediums, and softs), which are predecided by FIA
3. The drivers are free to choose what tire compounds to use for practice and qualifying (the real rule which I will skip for now, is a bit more complicated with some tires given up after practice and getting back a set after Q3)
In the race (if not affected by rain), at least two pairs of different tire types have to be used.
Some rules are changed if it rains in the weekend, like not requiring two different sets of tires if it’s wet conditions during the race.
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