Tyre Induced Pitstops

[HandyNZL 1]

Fernando Alonso has expressed concern over multiple stop-races, saying he isn't keen on the idea as it 'doesn't favour the strongest teams'.

The re-introduction of Pirelli rubber for the 2011 season has seen the Italian company produce low-durability tyres which, intentionally, degrade much quicker than the Bridgestone's of previous seasons.

This concerns the Spaniard, who compared it to penalties in football.

"From what we have seen so far, degradation is very significant, which means we will have races with lots of pit stops," he said during a Santander media event.

"I'm not keen on that because I think this increased uncertainty does not favour the strongest teams: it’s as if in football, it was decided to have a penalty per team each half hour in which case Barcelona and Real Madrid would not be jumping for joy.

"However, the situation is the same for everyone: it will be important to be fastest because I don’t think we can make one stop less than our main rivals."

[HandyNZL 1]

OK, so you have to make a few more pitstops than in 2010. But then so too do the other teams. And your concern is, what again?

I'm sorry, but if it is the same for everybody, how can it be a disadvantage to the top teams, or in reverse, an advantage for the bottom teams?

I don't get it Freddy. Are you saying that Ferrari will make crap pitstops? And you'll lose time. Not very nice to publicly diss your team mates.

Or are you saying, you'd prefer no pitstops and remove yet another aspect of F1 that the fans enjoy, and lo and behold an aspect this year that will be totally random and actually spice up the racing? Not nice to diss the public, er, publicly.

So like I was saying....what is your point Alonso?

AS for the rest of ye....what are your thoughts on random pitstops induced by tyre wear which will be solely a mix of car and driver dependent? I don't think teams this year can say "pitting on lap 17 Nico"....because the tyres may be down to the carcass at lap 12 depending on track conditions and where the drive is on the track, i.e. is he fighting hard to overtake (haha) or defend, or just trolling around?

I think it's great that the teams can not plan a pitstop. It harks back tot the good ol' days when a driver suddenly turned up at the pits screaming at the crew who were eating a hot-dog to check out his throttle linkage....

[HandyNZL 1]

And if you think this is an attack on ALonso, because you're can't determine a balanced debate when you see one......if this was Michael, or Lewis or Pastor saying this, I'd have the exact same questions for them. So no need to rant you beautiful Spanish one eyed supporters.

[lewisthegreat2 0]

Fernando Alonso has expressed concern

Is that all F1 drivers do? Express concerns? I see that in every single F1 article. They get paid to do nothing and everything's a concern. They need to be more like NASCAR, only

race in NASCAR.

doesn't favour the strongest teams.

What a shame.

it’s as if in football, it was decided to have a penalty per team each half hour in which case Barcelona and Real Madrid would not be jumping for joy.

What a stupid comparison. Good thing he doesn't post on this forum. How the Hell is it like an arbitrary, unfair penalty for the best teams to have every team running the same tires, that just so happen to be not that great? This is more like both teams getting a penalty each half hour, and Barcelona/Madrid just putting their heads down and moping around in mid-field (oh wait...all soccer players do that every game anyway...score some goals! )

However, the situation is the same for everyone: it will be important to be fastest because I don’t think we can make one stop less than our main rivals.

So...he realizes what he just said was really dumb and defeated the point of this article. Weird journalism.

But I will say this...any racer who just wants to run first unmolested and do no work to win isn't a racer at all, and Alonso's not the only one like that. They all disappoint me.

[lewisthegreat2 0]

Handy beats me.

To making posts.

[Caesar 0]

if hamilton destroys his tyres because of his driving style, and heidfeld overtakes him because of that , then the rules have damaged hamilton, although the rules are same for everyone. they would neutralize one characeristic of his driving , one that would give him advantage over heidfeld. so rules really aren't same for everyone.

[Adnam 0]

I am not sure why Alonso is concerned as I have heard that Ferrari have published their Pit Stop strategy. "Webber entered the pits. PIT PIT PIT"

[AleHop 0]

And if you think this is an attack on ALonso, because you're can't determine a balanced debate when you see one......if this was Michael, or Lewis or Pastor saying this, I'd have the exact same questions for them. So no need to rant you beautiful Spanish one eyed supporters.

Same here.

No questions.

I am not sure why Alonso is concerned as I have heard that Ferrari have published their Pit Stop strategy. "Webber entered the pits. PIT PIT PIT"

The strategy was PIT... PIT... PIT...

Pity.

[jackgarrett 0]

Ant all pit stops tyre induced since the refuling ban?

I say the more pits the better and it give me an idea to post on the forza 4 whislist to have the tyers degrade quicker.

[KoolMonkey 0]

Montreal gave us a fantastic race last year due to the pitstops. I for one want more of this, not Button or others doing 99% of the race on soft tyres. Bridgestone were conservative on their tyres, I have a feeling the softs up to hards were only a few % difference. Bring back the days when guys shredded their tyres, or if running wets, they drove them down to bald. Why not. I mean they took refueling out, so if this makes up the loss of strategy and excitement, I'm all for it.

[F1 FANatic 1]

Ant all pit stops tyre induced since the refuling ban?

I say the more pits the better and it give me an idea to post on the forza 4 whislist to have the tyers degrade quicker.

Not really, many times last year people drove all but 3 or 4 laps on one set of tires and only changed because of the rule saying they need to use both compounds.

[dribbler 6]

if hamilton destroys his tyres because of his driving style, and heidfeld overtakes him because of that , then the rules have damaged hamilton, although the rules are same for everyone. they would neutralize one characeristic of his driving , one that would give him advantage over heidfeld. so rules really aren't same for everyone.

Beyond illogical.

Montreal gave us a fantastic race last year due to the pitstops. I for one want more of this, not Button or others doing 99% of the race on soft tyres. Bridgestone were conservative on their tyres, I have a feeling the softs up to hards were only a few % difference. Bring back the days when guys shredded their tyres, or if running wets, they drove them down to bald. Why not. I mean they took refueling out, so if this makes up the loss of strategy and excitement, I'm all for it.

Agreed.

[HandyNZL 1]

if hamilton destroys his tyres because of his driving style, and heidfeld overtakes him because of that , then the rules have damaged hamilton, although the rules are same for everyone. they would neutralize one characeristic of his driving , one that would give him advantage over heidfeld. so rules really aren't same for everyone.

Beyond illogical.

I agree with Herr Dribbleschnott.

Since when has damaging tyres been an advantage?

[Caesar 0]

my point is that hamilton will be forced to drive like a heidfeld so save his tyres, and one heidfeld in F1 is more than enough.

read it

[dribbler 6]

I agree with Herr Dribbleschnott.

Since when has damaging tyres been an advantage?

Danke. But I don't think he was making that point. I believe Caesar is implying that Hamilton will have to drive too carefully, therefore negating any advantage that his agressive style may bring. I don't think tyres will level the playing field to that extent; the savvy and the fast will always prevail.

[Max Mosley 2]

if hamilton destroys his tyres because of his driving style, and heidfeld overtakes him because of that , then the rules have damaged hamilton, although the rules are same for everyone. they would neutralize one characeristic of his driving , one that would give him advantage over heidfeld. so rules really aren't same for everyone.

Yes that's true in principle, though in practice who knows how significant it will be. Perhaps Alonso is also worried about that? And I think another variation of what you're saying is that even if the rules are the same for everyone, they might still not suit the top teams as much as the status quo. For example if races were decided by throwing a dice, Hispania might be a lot happier than Ferrari, even though it's arguably just as fair. Alonso probably meant that tyre degradation makes it a bit of a lottery, though I think his comparison is a bit far-fetched and contrived. Motorsport is totally different to football and needs some spicing up.

I am not sure why Alonso is concerned as I have heard that Ferrari have published their Pit Stop strategy. "Webber entered the pits. PIT PIT PIT"

Very good.

[Caesar 0]

Danke. But I don't think he was making that point. I believe Caesar is implying that Hamilton will have to drive too carefully, therefore negating any advantage that his agressive style may bring.

that was my point

I don't think tyres will level the playing field to that extent; the savvy and the fast will always prevail.

hope you are right

[Jem of the Shire 0]

Hamilton will always drive like Hamilton, and so he should. I think we'll just have to wait and see til the first race, and my understanding is that the problem is only in cooler temperatures.

I'm not sure why I remember this but in February 1998 Jacques Villeneuve said the new grooved tyres were extremely dangerous (up to that point F1 had always been on slicks) and that all drivers would be constantly spinning off the track, and he was completely wrong - so maybe the predictions for these tyres are wrong too!!

[HandyNZL 1]

Ant all pit stops tyre induced since the refuling ban?

I say the more pits the better and it give me an idea to post on the forza 4 whislist to have the tyers degrade quicker.

No - they have been strategy induced (and as pointed out, rulebook induced).

These new tyres seem to fall away fast, and in a race sense that means predictability has gone out the window. I think this is a good thing.

[dribbler 6]

I'm not sure why I remember this but in February 1998 Jacques Villeneuve said the new grooved tyres were extremely dangerous (up to that point F1 had always been on slicks) and that all drivers would be constantly spinning off the track, and he was completely wrong - so maybe the predictions for these tyres are wrong too!!

The only dangerous tracks Villeneuve was ever involved with were the ones on his sh*t album.

[Kopite Girl 0]

Doesn't anyone else get tired of the changes "they" keep introducing? I know F1 is engineering at its best, a showcase for technology and the pinnacle of motorsport but what I'm trying to say is let the guys create and stop changing the rules to block innovation. It doesn't make sense to me.

We've got a grid with 5 champions. The closest racing we've had this side of Schumacher's dominance. The rules were changed (I believe) because people wanted to see close racing. Or somebody challenge Michael. We've done that now. I don't mind re-fuelling (bring it back), and tyre-stops. It makes a better race in my view.

If they must change again, have the driver call their own stops. Give back a bit of control. They're the ones on the racetrack. The car does most of the work as do the team behind the scenes in the pit lane. Let the driver make the decisions. We just may see Vettel mess up whilst Sutil has the perfect race. (and that's not to say I want to see Vettel mess up. Well just a bit!)

[Caesar 0]

Rain button will do miracle for F1 races. Just imagine Australian GP - artificial lightning strikes above race track during the race start, while you can hear AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" playing in background, and then camera zooms on Charlie Whitting's shaking rheumatic finger on rain button. When he will push it ? That is the future of F1!

[dribbler 6]

Rain button will do miracle for F1 races. Just imagine Australian GP - artificial lightning strikes above race track during the race start, while you can hear AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" playing in background, and then camera zooms on Charlie Whitting's shaking rheumatic finger on rain button. When he will push it ? That is the future of F1!

Why bother with the race at all? Just line the drivers up and tell them one by one who has not won, with at least thirty seconds of pregnant pause between each announcement. Every other programme on British TV works to that format. It pulls in untold numbers of highly intelligent viewers.

[HandyNZL 1]

Rain button will do miracle for F1 races. Just imagine Australian GP - artificial lightning strikes above race track during the race start, while you can hear AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" playing in background, and then camera zooms on Charlie Whitting's shaking rheumatic finger on rain button. When he will push it ? That is the future of F1!

I have read this, and re read this and even though I know I am tired having worked two 16-hour days and had about 4 hrs sleep, I still struggle to comprehend where you are going with this, and how this has anything to do with pitstops.

[AleHop 0]

I have read this, and re read this and even though I know I am tired having worked two 16-hour days and had about 4 hrs sleep, I still struggle to comprehend where you are going with this, and how this has anything to do with pitstops.

Hey, you're whinging!!!

I bet Alonso works 16 h every day and you don't see him on an internet forum sharing his sorrow.