Formula One going the GP2 way - Bridgestone

>Traditionally, Formula One regulations have stated that each team must use two types of wet weather tyres for their cars. One are the standard wet weather sets while the other are meant for extreme wet weather. The main reason for this arrangement is the safety of the drivers who drive at maniacal speeds even on the slickest of tracks. However, tyre manufacturing giants, Bridgestone, are looking to make things simpler by going the GP2 way. Teams have a single wet weather tyre that is designed to cover all changes in weather conditions.

This is a simple concept that deals with the treading on tyres. A GP2 tyre has a sloping block tread profile that enables the tyre to wear down quickly if the conditions are dry, or dryer. Therefore, a tyre that begins as an extreme wet weather tyre, slowly disintegrates its profile into normal wet weather. Bridgestone’s director of motorsport tyre development, Hirohide Hamashima said,”We have learnt a lot from our Formula One wet tyre development and our GP2 single wet tyre is an interesting area of development,”

“We do have a new single wet Formula One tyre which we have been developing. However, the current regulations call for two wet tyres, a wet and an extreme wet, so it would be a long time before we could see this tyre in use at a race weekend.”

The new tyre is set to be evaluated at the next wet Formula One testing session. One wonders how a team would cope if one part of the track saw drivers tackling extreme wet weather while the other end of the track could be facing bright sunshine and a dry track.