By Courtesy of Pirelli
July 21 2014
Pirelli Hungarian GP Preview |
Pirelli, along with the rest of
the teams, makes the 800-kilometre journey from Hockenheim to Budapest for
the only back-to-back European grand prix weekend of the season. The
Hungaroring, the first Formula One venue ever to be built behind the former
Iron Curtain back in 1986, is a permanent facility but has many of the
characteristics of a street circuit, with tight and twisty corners and a low
grip surface that puts the emphasis on mechanical grip. In the past, the
race has often been very hot, but rain is not unknown either. Pirelli is
bringing the P Zero White medium along with the P Zero yellow soft tyres,
which should provide the right compromise between performance and resistance
to the high ambient temperatures. Although the Hungaroring is not
particularly demanding on tyres, the non-stop series of corners mean that
the compounds do not get much of an opportunity to cool down over the course
of a lap. The tyres are often subjected to a combination of forces at the Hungaroring. The aerodynamic downforce means that there is a vertical force pushing down onto the tyres, while at the same time there is a lateral force going through the tyres as they negotiate the corners, as well as longitudinal forces from acceleration and braking. All this increases the stress on the structure. The winning strategy in 2013 was three stops, as Lewis Hamilton took his first win for Mercedes using the medium and the soft tyres. Kimi Raikkonen finished second for Lotus after stopping only twice. |
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THE TYRE CHOICES SO FAR: PZero Red PZero Yellow PZero White PZero Orange Australia Soft Medium Malaysia Medium Hard Bahrain Soft Medium China Soft Medium Spain Medium Hard Monaco Supersoft Soft Canada Supersoft Soft Austria Supersoft Soft Germany Supersoft Soft Hungary Soft Medium |