Tyres Tyres Tyres: Has F1 Gone Too Far?

Formula 1 of late seems a far cry from the Schumacher dominated days of yesteryear. Instead of the multi million Pound  precession of cars we were once faced  with, racing today is far less predictable and overtaking is plentiful. Yet this seemingly vast improvement in racing, is often overshadowed by a significant factor in modern F1: tyres. F1 tyres have taken a leading role in determining the finishing order in races of late. Drivers and cars that are able to preserve their tyres are rewarded with far fewer visits to the pits. But has this damaged what many visualise as the World's fastest sport? Have F1's tyre issues pushed the sport too far from its roots?

The slick tyres used by today's current crop of F1 teams, are made solely by Pirelli. Pirelli were instructed by the FIA, F1's governing body, to create tyres that provided good grip for a short period of time. The intention was to create a challenge for teams with races requiring 2-3 pit stops. However the weekend's race at Barcelona showed how too much tyre wear means drivers are forced to run well within their limits in order to lengthen tyre life. The tyres have become a significant challenge, requiring continual management.

Jody Sheckter had to manage his innovative P34 in 1976

Nevertheless, if we look back over the past 60 years of Formula 1 racing, it is clear to see that racing drivers have rarely been flat out all Sunday long. Generally there has always been a factor that required managing, whether it be gearbox, engine or brake related. Drivers are not just there to push to the limits, but also ensure their machinery can carry them to the finish. In the 50s and 60s the main limiting factor tended to be mechanical, with a lengthy list of racers who 'Did Not Finish' often falling victim to engine and gearbox failures. Through the decades reliability improved, but high performance turbo engines in the 80s were still fragile beasts that needed heavy management over a weekend - they ran up to 600hp less during races than qualifying in order to just survive.

Today however, reliability is so good that races see few mechanical failures with engines competing in 3 to 4 races per season before requiring any rebuilding. Engines and gearboxes require very little management from drivers as a result, with simple engine mapping adjustments providing teams with confidence their cars will see out the distance.

Locking wheels can destroy a tyre in seconds

Especially from the fan's point of view, tyres are the main factors that require management. Many have voiced their disgust, and even 3 times F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel explained that his Red Bull RB9 could go far quicker over the course of a race if the tyres weren't such a limiting factor.

These issues do not seem to exist because something requires heavy management. Instead it's the fact it results in drivers circulating tracks 10 seconds off their potential pace. We even notice teams instructing drivers to "not fight" against others due to focusing entirely on their own race stint. Most of Barcelona's overtaking came in the form of DRS assisted straight line passes, whilst both Button and Vettel showed little flare when defending positions from attack. This meant despite the number of overtakes being sufficient, each was far less dramatic than many F1 fans would hope.

DRS assisted passes are often less dramatic

The Australian and Bahrain races were thankfully far better and so we can only hope that future races will be closer to them, but Barcelona should certainly serve as a lesson of what we don't want. F1 is the pinnacle of Motorsport, both in terms of drivers and car technology, so the last thing we want is a formula where neither of these things are being pushed to the limits.

A Bubble Spitting V12? Well Done Aston Martin

In rather timely fashion, Aston Martin have confirmed that they'll be entering a zero emission racing car into the daunting Nurburgring 24 hour race this May. The car, based on their road going Rapide S, is far from similar to those quiet electric racers mentioned in my recent post 'Will Green Cars Always Sound Boring?' Instead this green racer will be fitted with a more familiar Aston Martin 6 litre V12, with the ability to emit nothing but water thanks to it's hydrogen conversion. This will be the first hydrogen powered car to not only complete a lap at the Nurburging 24 Hours, but also the first to compete in an international racing event.

The hydrogen powered V12 is boosted by 2 turbos, essential to ensure the burning of hydrogen is as efficient as possible. The car will also use conventional petrol for much of the race, however Aston Martin have confirmed at least one lap of the circuit, nicknamed the 'Green Hell' by F1 World Champion Jackie Stewart, will be driven under full hydrogen power.

This may only represent a sneak peak into what the future holds, but it looks to be a significant step towards the goal of one day seeing a full grid of hydrogen racers growling through the forests of the Nurburgring. A fitting location given its serious mechanical challenges and naturally beautiful, tree lined surroundings.

The 41st Nurburgring 24 Hour race will take place on 19th-20th May, with the race starting at 4pm CEST / 3pm BST.

Will Green Cars Always Sound Boring?

There's an ever increasing number of green cars on our roads, with a recent surge in available electric vehicles further emphasising this. Electric vehicles are fast becoming a realistic option for urban drivers, offering improved range and useful performance whilst producing zero emissions from their tailpipes. But it would be hard to argue that these cars sound at all sexy, so are future drivers doomed to a near silent future of whining electric motors?

How would you define the word green? Not the colour, but the treehugging, beard growing environmentalist's word. Well according to a reliable source (ehem..Wikipedia), green is defined as something that inflicts "reduced, minimal, or no harm at all upon ecosystems or the environment". So with this in mind, how about defining a 'green car'? You may say something like a car that produces close to zero emissions, something quiet and maybe something slow? You'd probably steer clear of saying something exciting like a 12 cylinder Pagani Zonda or V10 BMW M5, because they scare sheep and spit fire. Green cars sound a bit boring then, don't they? But surely there exist some fun green cars...

Combustion engines aren't very green, especially when they spit fire

To explore this we'd first have to understand what fun is, in the driving sense of course. There are many components to a fun drive, but I'd be confident in saying that in almost all circumstances said fun car will at least make a nice noise. Something like a Porsche Carrera GT would do, or even the screaming VTEC engine of a Honda S2000. In all of my favourite sounding cars, there's a key component that brings a wry smile to my face, it's called the combustion engine.

Well we're all familiar with hybrid vehicles, which utilise both a combustion engine and an electric motor to provide power. They are often referred to as green due to their reduced emissions and improved efficiency, and they also retain an engine so don't lose touch with conventional car characteristics. So hybrids must be examples of potentially fun, and at least slightly green cars. Case closed...

La Ferrari - a hybrid that's not even trying to be green

Unfortunately it's not so simple, as the prosecution has a new piece of evidence against those 'green' hybrids. Take the latest generation of hypercars from Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche for example. Each come fitted with energy recovery systems and hybrid motors, helping to improve performance without increasing emissions. But since each car still requires the ignition of nature's oil in a dozen or so cylinders, they can hardly be called green. And to remove any strands of green that did remain on the Ferrari, the company's Chairman, Luca De Montezemolo admitted that their hybrid motor was fitted purely to boost performance rather than reduce emissions. Not very environmental of them then!

So that brings us back to the definition of green cars. Those that argue only zero emission cars can be called green, may turn our attention to completely electric vehicles. There are quite a few of these on the market at the moment, a popular example of which is the Nissan Leaf. But the Nissan Leaf, well, isn't exactly exciting. Yes it has some clever electric wizardry, but I doubt the lack of emotive sounds will be able to please the caravan burning Top Gear generation.

The electric Lola-Drayson doesn't look so boring, does it?

Nevertheless, there are now electric cars that are built purely to go racing...and racing cars are fun. The electric powered Lola-Drayson B12/69EV currently being developed by entrepreneur Paul Drayson is a great example of a fast electric vehicle. It produces zero emissions yet is still able to reach 200mph, matching the performance of it's combustion engined rivals in the Le Mans 24hours where it'll be competing this year. Plus with the introduction of a new international electric vehicle racing championship called Formula E, we will soon have a fully fledged series of fast electric cars racing wheel to wheel throughout the year.

Great then, we've found our fun green vehicles. Or have we? There's still that one thing that these electric racers can never bring to driving, and that's of course noise. They do make a noise, but it's closer to that of your washing machine then a brutal GT racer. It seems electric cars will always be fighting a losing battle, as combustion engines tend to our primitive needs. Fire, aggression and a feeling of power are all associated with high performance engines, exciting our inner caveman when behind the wheel.

A hydrogen V12? Why not!

So what does the future hold for fun driving? Are we destined to face country sprints with a noise resembling a kitchen appliance to disappoint our ears? Not necessarily. Electric motors are not the only completely green source of power. Hydrogen, a very real option for the future, is constantly being pushed towards becoming a viable solution to providing power in mass produced vehicles. Plus hydrogen requires a combustion engine, meaning we can have our V8s back. Instead of fire though, these V8s would be more likely to spit bubbles thanks to producing nothing more than H2O at the tailpipes. How very green!

Now this being said, we shouldn't discourage the increase of electric cars on sale today, since they are a fantastic solution to urban transport issues. Although, I think it is also fair to say that many of us will be hoping hydrogen will one day be a practical solution, because as much as I'm all for a sustainable future, one without pops and bangs and bouncing rev limits just doesn't sound fun.