Comments on: Kovalainen, Hamilton and tyre wear

By: Scott Joslin

Scott Joslin — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:22:20 +0000

I agree with teamorders, I think this has to do with driving style than specific set up problems with the car. Sounds like lewis is more balanced with the power application (although from the outside that does not always look so).

I am not a driver and perhaps Ben can offer his advice.

For example, if Lewis carries more speed into a corner due to having more confidence than Kovi, would this mean Lewis can await a bit longer to get on the power, and apply the throttle more gradually. Where as Kovi is applying it earlier to make up for a slower apex speed?

This could also come down to tyre management, Perhaps Lewis found wet patches off the racing line when the surface was drying. This would have protected his tyres better, had Kovi not been doing it as much. – But this is all just an assumption.

I am surprised at this story as Kovi looks smoother than Lewis.

By: Jimi

Jimi — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 08:01:24 +0000

It seems that Lewis likes quite a bit of oversteer in his setup – more than most F1 drivers. That’s why he’s especially hard on his front tyres. And gentler with his rear tyres. And in wet conditions ability to handle the excessive oversteer is a key factor. Maybe that’s why Lewis is such a good driver in wet conditions.

At Silverstone Lewis had problems with his tyres only towards the end of the first stint when the track was its driest and Kimi was catching him. But after that, when it was wetter, he was fine.

By: Missouri Mike

Missouri Mike — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 04:34:40 +0000

This is only my second comment, so this is a legit question and not rhetorical at all, (i.e. please tell me what you all think). Can Hamilton’s huge margin of victory and overall pace at Silverstone tell us anything about his tire management? I know that the McLaren pit crew opted to give him fresh intermediates wheras some other teams were pitting without tire changes, but surely to keep up a pace whereby he won by over a full minute over the rest of the field means he can’t be chewing through his tires THAT badly. I have noticed in the dry that he locks up his inside front tire more than anyone else in the braking zones (it was really obvious at Bahrain and Malasia), and I wonder how stiff his car is set up compared to the other cars in the field, and whether this might have something to do with the inside tire locking up so much.

By: teamorders

teamorders — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 04:13:17 +0000

Kovi specified rear tyres. That to me indicates he’s not as sensitive on the throttle sa Lewis, and was proably spinning up the rears too much out of the corners in drying conditions.

Lewis punishing a front outside tyre in the dry more than Kovi probably indicates a different setup, or a different driving style. He’s either got wider lines/higher apex speeds, or he’s setting his car up with a loose front? LOL, I really don’t know much.

I remember Prost & Senna at McLaren had such different driving styles and set ups that they found each others cars undrivable (IIRC).

By: the limit

the limit — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 03:13:02 +0000

At the end of the day, Kovalainen is a rookie the same as Lewis Hamilton. Compared to some of the other drivers, like Raikkonen and Alonso, Kovalainen has far less experience.
The one point of note in all this, is that Hamilton goes pretty damn well in wet conditions, and can run well on worn tyres in those instances.
Fuji 07 and Silverstone 08 were two very good examples of this.
However, this year has been without the threat from Alonso that was so persistent last year. Fernando in the McLaren would have been a far more difficult proposition for Lewis than Kovalainen.
In this I feel that McLaren are at a disadvantage by running two young guns, and not having an experienced guy in one of the cars. Winning races infront of the home fans is awesome, but what about the constructers championship?
Consistency is what really matters, with both drivers not just the one.

By: Wesley

Wesley — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:25:22 +0000

Possibly a balance problem….maybe they need to get Fernando to set up thier cars for them.

Sorry….I couldn’t resist.

By: Alex Andronov

Alex Andronov — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:02:24 +0000

My read of this is that McLaren are hard on tyres full stop. So both drivers are struggling with this. We also heard Ted Kravitz suggesting that McLaren couldn’t use the full wets well this weekend. That’s a good sign for McLaren because if it’s something that’s happening to both drivers then it’s probably something that they can engineer out rather than a driving style which is much harder to tamper with.

By: Wesley

Wesley — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:01:15 +0000

@ Nathan

Heikki said in Canada he had more wear on his rear tires than Hamilton too.Although that is a lower grip track(this year more than ever)it is still not in rain conditions.

..if I understand correctly,Hamilton is having problems with the front tires and Heikki is having trouble with the rears?

By: Nathan

Nathan — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:05:50 +0000

I think you’ve missed the point here, Keith. According to that quote there Kovalainen is saying that he was harder on the tyres in low grip conditions than Hamilton, but in normal racing trim Hamilton is still harder on the tyres.

By: Keith Collantine

Keith Collantine — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:47:08 +0000

Sav22 – McLaren said afterwards they moved him onto a three-stopper because they thought the tyres wouldn’t last. Their expectations of tyre use at the circuit changed because the re-surfacing.