First Track Time For 2021 Specification 18-Inch F1 Tyres

[Turk]

I'm still not a huge fan, I don't really care though, they will probably grow me. The first image the front wheels look like wagon wheels. For some reason the rears look ok.

It's not a really big deal for me though, I don't care what they use.

 

[LTLGamer1]

Not as bad as I thought, though not as good either. Still prefer the 13" ones.

 

[motoliser]

Awfull stuff!!! Why don't they just use bicycle wheels???

 

[UnixRoot]

Looks horrible. I hate those low profile tyres on modern street cars too.

 

[Mr Latte]

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[mister dog]

It does compensate for the cars having become so much longer over the years, they will look less like a limo now.

 

[Col_ed_Viân]

The overall diameter is the same so the actual wheel and tyre combination is no different. However when you have a wheel this size it does a sort of optical illusion and the wheel looks bigger.

I’m not too bothered about the change. I think we’ll get used to it after a few races. I’d prefer maybe a slightly bigger sidewall but that’s it, the front tyre/wheel looks slightly awkward in my view.

I tried to think of this in reverse. How would Le Mans prototypes looks with current F1 tyres? they’d look silly too. So it’s a case of what you get used to.

I believe the reasoning behind it is purely marketing. Like hybrid engines. Pirelli want more of a road car link and low profile is more in tune with sports cars, etc than the high sidewalls they have now. Oddly though it actually does less for marketing because the smaller sidewall means smaller logos, which means they are probably harder to see.

What I find interesting about all of this is the technical change, this will make a huge difference in suspension design, setup and how the car behaves over bumps. Whoever gets this right will have a huge advantage. All the teams are probably running tones of simulation data with these wheel/tyre combos to find out what they’d be like.

Actually, the overall diameter of the tyres they tested is bigger than the current one.

 

[CreamyCornCob]

Renault, Pirelli conclude 18-inch tyre test: 'It will change the face of F1'

Not a lot here but with that statement, there must be massive differences in results they found while testing.

https://www.gpfans.com/en/articles/44847/renault-pirelli-conclude-18-inch-tyre-test-it-will-change-the-face-of-f1/

 

[Antony Snook]

The Price of Oil is fluctuating all the time, and Oil is used to make rubber. This means tires will be more accessible to teams as they will not cost as much for teams to purchase.

 

[Terry Rock]

To truly test these wheels, you'd need to take them to tracks with punishing curbs.
Think the curbing on the outside, downhill section adjacent to pit-in at Redbull Ring.
If it can survive that, it'll survive everything else.
I've seen that curbing rip the suspension right out from under an F1 car.
It's that harsh.

 

[turbo86]

It would look so sick with Turbo wheels.

 

[Xero]

It looks very strange, but good at the same time! Will be one of those things we get used to very quickly. How many of us actually notice the halo now for example? It's just the normality now.