There are very specific rules to using tyres in an F1 race and here it as simple as possible:

First, there is one tyre provider for all the teams. Pirelli has been the provider since 2011.

Every race Pirelli provides 3 tyre compounds made available for all the teams in equal quantities. They are color coded, Red (the softest compound), Yellow (medium compound) and white (hard compound)

The harder the compound the slower the tyre is but the longer it lasts. The softer the compound the faster the tyre is and shortest it lasts on the track. So, the teams must find a balance between speed and distance since they are forced to use at least 2 compounds during the race, even if one of the compounds was used for only one lap it is fine as long as they use two types.

But what if it rains, you may ask!! Well, this is also covered, there are two types of tyres for wet weather. They are marked with Blue color for very wet surface (the tyres are called Full Wet or extreme weather) and Green marked tyers (called Intermediate tyres) for when the track is not so wet but still holds water (damp surface).

Tyres plays a very important role in who wins a race. This is no truer than the final race of the 2021 season that saw Max Verstappen overtakes his rival Lewis Hamilton on the last lap of the race to win the title for 2021. All was possible because Max had a fresh set of tyres on his car and Lewis’s were a very much used set that could not keep up with the Red Bull car despite the speed advantage the Merceds had.

The hotter the tyres get the more grip they provide which means that cars can go through corners much faster than in colder tyres.

“the softer the compound of the tyre the more grip it produces”

Also, as said earlier, the softer the compound of the tyre the more grip it produces so a hot lap (fastest possible) on a Soft Tyre would most probably be the fastest the car can go around that track, so this Red (soft Compound) tyres are usually used for Q3 to insure the driver starts as high up the grid as possible.

During the race the driver needs to pace his speed according to the tyres being used. Running very close to a car in front would actually force the car behind to eat up (consume the rubber) much faster than if the driver had no cars in front of his (this is called running in clean air in F1).

F1 cars are designed in a very specific Aerodynamic way to make the car stick to ground as much as possible (to corner faster) and at the same time to have as little as possible of air resistance while driving in straight lines at top speeds.

There is always a compromise between the two factors and that usually is what the teams do during the 3 Free Practice Sessions before the Qualifying. They only work on finding the right balance for each track between straight line speed and going through corners as quickly as possible.

The teams also use some of their time in these sessions to run race simulations, so they fuel the cars with the same amount to cover the full race distance and they have their two drivers test how fast they can run with such a heavy car and on which tyres would they be able to make the best time during the race.

The practice sessions are usually run on Friday (except in Monaco on Thursday) for 2 sessions and then one session in the morning of Saturday before the qualifying session.

All the F1 cars are provided with so many sensors that collects and sends a ton of data to the engineers in the Pit and sometimes back to the factory even, to analyze and give feedback to the driver and the mechanics on how to change the setup to insure the fastest possible lap.

This Data collection is called Telemetry and is a vital part of setting the race strategy. Usually, the teams come to the race with information collected from the previous years but each year the tyres are different, and the car design may have changed in a way that they need to redo all the work all over again.

So what is the Pit? The pit is the teams’ Garage during the race weekend, and it holds all their mechanics, kits and basic spare parts. The drivers “Pits” into their garages during the race to change their tyres or do any minor adjustments that are allowed by the rules and can be done quickly not to compromise the driver’s opportunity to achieve the highest possible position at the race end.

“they tell the driver on the radio “BOX.BOX” which means they want them to do a Pit Stop.”

The teams also call this BOX. So they tell the driver on the radio “BOX.BOX” which means they want them to do a Pit Stop.

Just opposite to the teams Garage and right next to the racing track there is what is called the Pit Wall. This area usually holds the team principal and race engineers who actually decide among themselves on the best possible strategy to win the race and take decisions on when to ask the drivers to Pit for new tyres or speed up or slow down as the race strategy needs.

Worth noting here is that these guys on the pit wall know and can see what other teams are doing and they relay all this information to the drivers to act accordingly. While the driver is only able to see the cars right Infront or right behind him.

For a few years now, all the Radio communication between the teams and the drivers on the track is open to all teams to listen in. So, there are no confidential data shared during the race over the radio as everyone knows that everyone else is listening.

This is also sometimes used as a tool during the race were drivers actually pass false information over the radio to trick other teams into thinking they may have a problem or an issue while in fact this is not true. Lewis Hamilton does this a lot but know everyone knows and it doesn’t work anymore, nor I have seen it change any race outcome.

Additionally, the teams usually agree on several strategies ahead of the race and they give them code names like A, B…etc. So when they need to switch strategies they don’t explain more than needed over the Radio.

A lot of the times these strategies are around when to pit for new tyres and the team would say to the driver we want to do Plan A + 5 which means an extra 5 laps over whatever Plan A was.

F1 changed the engine specs back in 2014, they moved from a 2.4 liter V8 to a 1.6 liter V6 Turbo-Hybrid and it has been the one in use till date. These engines are the most advanced and the most efficient in the world today. They generate roughly 1000hp.

The F1 rule now is that these engine specs will stay the same until 2026 when a new regulation will be introduced.

Each driver is allowed to use 3 engines only through the full season, so each engine should be good enough to be used for about 6-7 races at least. The stress these engines go through is very high so they are built with the highest possible durability in mind.

Like all Hybrid Engines, these engines use fuel to power the internal combustion engine and Electricity to power the Electric part.

The Electricity comes from something called MGU-K (Motor Generator Unit-Kinetic) this device generates electricity from the heat that is generated by the Car Braking System. The electricity generated is then stored in batteries that the driver can use to help him accelerate when needed like in overtaking maneuvers or to defend and stop other cars from overtaking.

This system used to be called KERS, Kinetic Energy Recovery System when it was first introduced to F1.

The braking mechanism generates so much heat as these cars are supposed to be able to reduce their massive speeds in very short distances. The Brake Discs actually look like they are on fire from the side.

A view we will miss this year since the new 18’’ tyers and wheel design hides the Brake Discs to in an effort to improve the air flow around the car.