Fernando Alonso says tyre degradation is still an issue when following a rival car closely, despite the introduction of new technical regulations.
This year, the cars have been built under a new set of technical rules, aimed at allowing drivers to follow a rival more closely through corners.
Previously, cars would lose downforce and overheat if they followed another closely through corners, but in the early stages of the 2022 campaign, several drivers have commented over the effect being reduced.
However, Alonso says that Pirelli’s tyres are still becoming damaged when cars are following in battle.
“It’s easy to follow cars, for sure,” Alonso said. “Aerodynamically I think we don’t lose as much downforce as before but the tyres are still an issue.
“To follow cars, you still damage a lot the tyres. On wet conditions – I didn’t drive in Barcelona [during a wet test], because we had this problem with the car in the morning – but I guess it’s going to be difficult.
“[When these cars on the low speed [through] corners, the slower that you run, obviously, in wet conditions, that will be a challenge.”
Alonso also questioned the success of the new regulations to make the field more competitive, believing the qualifying order ahead of races is still mostly team by team.
“The new regs are supposed to bring all the cars closer together and multiple teams could win races and drivers and things like that,” he said.
“I think the order of the qualifying is still team by team, you know, not drivers by drivers so there’s still a thing that the sport in general should keep looking into that and improved it.”
Fake racing tyres, not even the hardest compound Pirelli could muster could make a Formula E race distance, much less F1.
F1 would be 5 seconds a lap faster, on the 13″ wheel. Were they bona fide competition tires, they could otherwise make a race distance on the soft compound. And, they could otherwise do it without leaving the community a negative environmental externality, littering the track asunder with clag.
They’re not real racing tires. They’re not made for speed, or safety. They specifically made for entertainment value, to degrade at a specific moment.
Those Formula 1 cars sure look stupid, don’t they, with the 18″ SUV wheels?
I think it kind of gives the drivers the air, being rugged outdoors-men. Only thing missing, the Pendleton shirt, the moose horn, and the Caterpillar logo on their baseball caps.
The tire oligopoly demanded F1 mandate SUV sized wheels, for F1. They want F1 cars looking less like sports cars, more like cross-over passenger SUVs.
Step-by-step, the Liberty Media people are incrementally dumbing F1 down. Next thing on the Liberty Media agenda, turning F1 into a slap ‘n tickle, gender specific intramural. They want diversity, the boys ‘n girls mixing it up with LBGTQs over oversized, overweight SUV wheels.