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From Pirelli
At last weekend's Italian Grand Prix in Monza, the Red Bull Racing RB10 of Daniel Ricciardo reached 362.1 km/h (while slipstreaming) on the main straight.
At this speed, the wheel is rotating around 2800 times every minute, or just under 50 times every second.
[TD="class: caption"]Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing. (Photo: WRi2)[/TD]
These extreme speeds have a serious effect on the tires. At full speed, which is frequently the case during a lap of Monza, an F1 tire is often subjected to a downforce load up to 1000 kilograms. Another important aspect is that the high speeds generate a huge centrifugal force on the tire itself.
Because of these loads, the footprint of the tire increases and the part of the tire against the ground is subject to a lot of deformation, as shown in illustration 1 below. The structure of the tire has to be incredibly strong and elastic to cope with this constant flexing.
[TD="class: caption"]In red: beyond 350 km/h, the part of the tire in contact with the asphalt undergoes notable deformations.[/TD]
At the same time, the upper section of the tire (which is not in contact with the ground - illustration 2) is subjected to a big centrifugal force, but despite this the shape of the tire does not change much: stretching by just 1%. This is due to the low weight and extremely high stiffness of the materials developed by Pirelli for Formula 1.
[TD="class: caption"]Beyond 350 km/h, the highest part of the tire only changes shape by 1%, despite being subject to an enormous centrifugal force.[/TD]
The F1 tires are designed precisely with these extreme forces in mind: during laboratory testing, before they even see a race track, the tires are exposed to higher loads and forces than they would normally experience, and accelerated to speeds of up to 450 km/h. Not only that, but they are also fired into solid surfaces at speeds in excess of 250 km/h: simulating the impacts with kerbs for which Monza is also famed.
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At last weekend's Italian Grand Prix in Monza, the Red Bull Racing RB10 of Daniel Ricciardo reached 362.1 km/h (while slipstreaming) on the main straight.
At this speed, the wheel is rotating around 2800 times every minute, or just under 50 times every second.
|
[TD="class: caption"]Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing. (Photo: WRi2)[/TD]
These extreme speeds have a serious effect on the tires. At full speed, which is frequently the case during a lap of Monza, an F1 tire is often subjected to a downforce load up to 1000 kilograms. Another important aspect is that the high speeds generate a huge centrifugal force on the tire itself.
Because of these loads, the footprint of the tire increases and the part of the tire against the ground is subject to a lot of deformation, as shown in illustration 1 below. The structure of the tire has to be incredibly strong and elastic to cope with this constant flexing.
|
[TD="class: caption"]In red: beyond 350 km/h, the part of the tire in contact with the asphalt undergoes notable deformations.[/TD]
At the same time, the upper section of the tire (which is not in contact with the ground - illustration 2) is subjected to a big centrifugal force, but despite this the shape of the tire does not change much: stretching by just 1%. This is due to the low weight and extremely high stiffness of the materials developed by Pirelli for Formula 1.
|
[TD="class: caption"]Beyond 350 km/h, the highest part of the tire only changes shape by 1%, despite being subject to an enormous centrifugal force.[/TD]
The F1 tires are designed precisely with these extreme forces in mind: during laboratory testing, before they even see a race track, the tires are exposed to higher loads and forces than they would normally experience, and accelerated to speeds of up to 450 km/h. Not only that, but they are also fired into solid surfaces at speeds in excess of 250 km/h: simulating the impacts with kerbs for which Monza is also famed.
More...