[Jody Barton]

Soooo... with tyre gate rumbling I decided to look into this 0.4mm in tread reduction for Barcelona, Paul Riccard and Silverstone. Interestingly it seems this is actually a reduction to what the 2018 test tyres were when teams ran them in 2017. The extra 0.4mm was added after feedback from most teams.

So. Could this be Mercedes problem? They expected the tyres to act one way, and with the increased tread they struggled? Take the extra 0.4mm back out again and in Barcelona they're front runners again.

[forzaferrari]

Soooo... with tyre gate rumbling I decided to look into this 0.4mm in tread reduction for Barcelona, Paul Riccard and Silverstone. Interestingly it seems this is actually a reduction to what the 2018 test tyres were when teams ran them in 2017. The extra 0.4mm was added after feedback from most teams.

So. Could this be Mercedes problem? They expected the tyres to act one way, and with the increased tread they struggled? Take the extra 0.4mm back out again and in Barcelona they're front runners again.

The only complaint I heard was from Kimi after quali where he said there was a noticeable difference which he also said was confirmed from telemetry...excuses? I dont know.

[morini]

Soooo... with tyre gate rumbling I decided to look into this 0.4mm in tread reduction for Barcelona, Paul Riccard and Silverstone. Interestingly it seems this is actually a reduction to what the 2018 test tyres were when teams ran them in 2017. The extra 0.4mm was added after feedback from most teams.

So. Could this be Mercedes problem? They expected the tyres to act one way, and with the increased tread they struggled? Take the extra 0.4mm back out again and in Barcelona they're front runners again.

I'm not a tyre expert by ant stretch of the imagination, but it sounds like sensationalism to me. Mercedes have always been good around Barcelona. I'm not surprised to see them at the front, in fact I'm surprised Ferrari got so close on "slower" tyres.

Pirelli reduced the tread depth because if worries concerning overheating at the faster tracks (that is my understanding, feel free to correct me if I am wrong). I don't think Mercedes influenced this decision in ant way. They just worked within the given parameters and did a good job.

The point is, there really isn't much between the top 3 cars, even though they have taken quite different approaches. We should embrace that as F1 fans. I'm enjoying this season so far.

[Monster Hesh]

lol, just posted something in the SpainishGP thread.

Is there really a "gate" rumbling?

Merc have always been strong at Barca, coupled with the hard tyre allocations. It's just the fact that we saw a mix of tyre use in Q3 achieving best times, that hasn't happened before, indicating to me something really wasn't right.

[forzaferrari]

Pirelli reduced the tread depth because if worries concerning overheating at the faster tracks (that is my understanding, feel free to correct me if I am wrong). I don't think Mercedes influenced this decision in ant way. They just worked within the given parameters and did a good job.

The reduction was more due to these circuits being resurfaced and therefore causing blistering to the tyres

[Monster Hesh]

https://twitter.com/Gianludale27/status/...2589855744

Gianluca D'Alessandro @Gianludale27
"I'm listening to Isola (Pirelli) on Sky Italy. Basically drivers and Pirelli say completely different things: drivers say that the supersoft tyres behave a certain way here in Spain, Pirelli say that the tyre shouldn't behave that way."

Edit: I was hoping for some controversy "gate" episode this season, maybe not as big as I was hoping but its a start.

[morini]

https://twitter.com/Gianludale27/status/...2589855744

Gianluca D'Alessandro @Gianludale27
"I'm listening to Isola (Pirelli) on Sky Italy. Basically drivers and Pirelli say completely different things: drivers say that the supersoft tyres behave a certain way here in Spain, Pirelli say that the tyre shouldn't behave that way."

And at the end of the day the drivers get in the car and drive. The tyres are the same for all the teams (unless you believe some of the rubbish on the cheap forums)

[forzaferrari]

And at the end of the day the drivers get in the car and drive. The tyres are the same for all the teams (unless you believe some of the rubbish on the cheap forums)

Totally agree, same for them all...although the flip side is all the data gathered and used to enhance and tweak the cars is rendered almost useless IF the tyre now behaves differently.

[Monster Hesh]

And at the end of the day the drivers get in the car and drive. The tyres are the same for all the teams (unless you believe some of the rubbish on the cheap forums)

Oh man, yeah, that is pure craziness. I would never imply that teams are issued differing tyres to another.

About this tread reduction, I'm just wondering whether there was a substantial side effect that nobody, including their manufactures, had anticipated. That we will also see at two other events in the future, or will they change yet again....

[morini]

Totally agree, same for them all...although the flip side is all the data gathered and used to enhance and tweak the cars is rendered almost useless IF the tyre now behaves differently.

A very valid point. But, again, it's the same for all teams.

The thing that bothers me about the "conspiracy theorists" is that they think the decisions are made for the benefit of a particular team. That's bollocks in my opinion, it might hurt some teams more than others (depending on how their car is designed) but I seriously doubt there is any subterfuge in these tyre changes. It has been done on safety grounds. These teams have huge resources and budgets - adapt or die, put up or shut up. I don't see anything weird in the first 5 races, just two (and sometimes 3) very closely matched teams who all use subtlety different approaches. I'm loving it.