"Mclaren", FIA and glass of water
A new twist in the case of allegations by Red Bull of some other teams, which, according to the Austrians, added a small amount of fluid to the tires to improve their performance.
At the beginning of November, AMuS devoted a considerable amount of material to the analysis of this accusation and concluded that it is all just a storm in a glass of water, because Red Bull tried to once again shake the position of McLaren as the main competitor.
But it turned out to be something different, and Motorsport published data from Pirelli, which after the Singapore Grand Prix, after removing the tires from the rims, found spots of dried moisture on some rims.
According to Pirelli, this may indirectly confirm that some teams injected wet air into the tires, while the tire manufacturers themselves always expel the air through special drying before injection.
It is also interesting that article 10.8.4 of the F1 regulations regarding working with tires leaves a gray area:
a. Tires can only be inflated with air or nitrogen.
b. Any process aimed at reducing the moisture content of the tire and/or the gas used to inflate it is prohibited.
That is, in fact, moisture cannot be removed, but nowhere is it written directly that it cannot be supplied there (for example, with the same air).
The benefit is simple: Pirelli tires are extremely sensitive to temperature, and the presence of even a small amount of moisture can help a driver keep the temperature lower at a higher humidity level than the rest of the drivers.
Another point is the pressure in the wheels, which will obviously be higher in tires with moist air. But, as Motorsport writes, some cars are less sensitive to ground clearance fluctuations and, according to Mario Isola, a few years ago a number of teams specifically increased the pressure in the front tires to reduce the contact patch and improve the aerodynamic characteristics of the car.
After Brazil, the FIA and Pirelli checked all the tires especially carefully, but nothing was found, although this does not prove that no one used this trick before. Besides, it wasn't as hot in Brazil as it was in Singapore.
Over het water in de band verhaal