what are these tyres??

[ccharlie6]

looking through some photo's of recent testing and noticed these tyres on AD's BAR at first i thought maybe intermediates but this was on the same day as everyone else using slicks and dry running.
http://www.f1racing.net/en/photolarg...897&catID=1801

any ideas??

[JeremySmith]

That looks like a prototype slick tyre to me.

[Raglanparade]

Maybe they were using Intermediates for 2-3 lap runs.

To see if they were stickier for the hot lap sessions next season.

Given that a 'slick' tyre has to last all race, a sticky intermediate tyre might be a qualifying option !

[muzza4ever]

I thought you had to qualify on the same tyre compound as you intend to race on? The only way to change that was if the qualy or race was declared a wet session. So you qualify on a hard slick - you race with a hard slick.

Or has this rule changed as well?

[Skam85]

Depends if you are qualifying out of the top 10. To my understanding, the slowest 10 (or 12) cars can change fuel and tyres between qually and the race. So for a team like Midland, this could be a viable option.

[Halsey]

Originally Posted by Skam85

Depends if you are qualifying out of the top 10. To my understanding, the slowest 10 (or 12) cars can change fuel and tyres between qually and the race. So for a team like Midland, this could be a viable option.

If that's the case, I think it's a pretty stupid system. Having said that, I can see the 'benefits' of having it like that.

[Raglanparade]

I think youll find it is the case.

Only the final ten must qualify on race tyres and fuel.

So if your car was in the bottom ten. you could use whichever tyres you want.

Is there any chance a intermediate would be quicker over 1 lap ? (due to hotter operating temperature).

[Halsey]

I don't know enough about it to make an educated response, so my uneducated response would be no.

Partially because I think that temperature wouldn't be much of an issue... Because that's what tyre warmers are for
But mainly because there's less surface area on the tyre to grip the road. But as I said, I really don't know.

[Raglanparade]

I was of the impression that the tyre would heat up and all the grooves would disapeer to form a slick..

remember a wet tyre is of a much softer compound then a slick tyre

[Skam85]

It's an interesting scenario, but there must be something wrong with it, for one non-technical reason.. Why didn't anyone do it before? E.g 2002 and earlier when there was 12 laps of qually and you could change tyres as much as you liked?

[KevinS]

I believe it's not uncommon to do a few runs on (old) wet/intermediate tyres to clean up a green track and put down some rubber.

[Mr V]

As F1 is meant to be returning to (proper) slicks in 2007, i can't see the tyre manufacturer's wasting a lot of time and effort developing something they are not going to use (i.e. different type of grooved slick) - unless of course, the FIA are going to introduce a different type of slick for '07 ?

[windsok]

Thats what an intermediate looks like with a low shutter speed, or low frame rate, it looks like that on television.

[Halsey]

That'd explain it - I was wondering what the 'groove' in the middle of it was doing there!

[Sodemo]

Those are inters, im 99% sure.

[Logrence]

Originally Posted by Skam85

Depends if you are qualifying out of the top 10. To my understanding, the slowest 10 (or 12) cars can change fuel and tyres between qually and the race. So for a team like Midland, this could be a viable option.

You have to choose your compound for the weekend at 9am on the Saturday morning, though.

[Marbot]

Track looks damp to me.Slicks for 2008 me thinks.

[Jordi]

Those are intermediates, but perhaps the track was damp from the night before and temperatures were very low?

At Montmeló last week most cars' first run was on intermediates...