Mercedes is looking for a way out of the rubber vicious circle

At temperatures of 30 degrees and more, the tires on the Mercedes quickly develop durability problems and blistering occurs. These are temperatures like those expected for the Spanish Grand Prix in Montmelo near Barcelona this weekend. This doesn't just make the drivers in their fireproof racing overalls sweat.

Mercedes is working hard to find a way out of the rubber vicious circle. “If we don't fix this quickly, we'll look stupid next Sunday too,” emphasized Mercedes racing engineer Andrew Shovlin after the tires on the cars of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas suffered badly last Sunday at Silverstone. A week earlier, both drivers had a front tire burst.

Lewis Hamilton rode to victory on three wheels. © APA/afp / ANDREW BOYERS

However, the causes of the massive problems with the Pirelli tires were different. In the first race of the Silverstone double pack, the lateral and longitudinal forces had too strong an effect on the rubber - through braking and through the corners. The problem was solved with more tire pressure for the second race. But then the rear tires started causing problems.

They got very hot in the center. “When the tire gets hot, it slides more, producing more heat,” Shovlin explained. The result: the car loses traction and the driver loses control of the car. This doesn't happen in the rain or at cooler temperatures, as the interaction between aerodynamics and engine performance in the "Silver Arrow" works almost perfectly. “But in other races where the tire is the limiting factor, we just flatten the tire,” emphasized Wolff. Red Bull without tire problems After last Sunday's race, in which Hamilton and Bottas had secured second and third place behind Max Verstappen in the Red Bull, it looked as if the black rollers had picked up a second layer of used tire residue - one rolling rubber crater landscape. World Cup leaders Hamilton and Bottas were then amazed to look at Verstappen's far less abused tires, who climbed to second place in the classification, 30 points behind.

Since the reintroduction of turbo engines, Mercedes has only been able to beat itself at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, winning five of the six races since 2014. “However, we normally drive there during the winter tests and at the European opener in the spring. This time, however, we can expect sunshine and the Spanish summer heat of more than 30 degrees,” explained Wolff from Vienna. “Accordingly, the heat will definitely be more of a challenge for us, but we are excited to get back on this track and find out if we have taken a step in the right direction.”

According to a Mercedes release, Formula 1 in Montmelo reached 41 degrees, the fourth highest average track temperature of the year (based on the average of the last five years). Two factors are crucial for this: the track surface absorbs heat very well, and at the same time the electromagnetic radiation from the sun is particularly high in Barcelona. Therefore, the track temperature rises quickly when the sky is not cloudy.

Small consolation for the brand with the star: exclusive supplier Pirelli at least doesn't have the same rubber compounds as the last one in Silverstone. Knowing full well that the newly asphalted track two years ago wears out the tires, the Italian manufacturer opted for the three hardest compounds - just like in the first Silverstone race almost two weeks ago.

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Mercedes is looking for a way out of the rubber vicious circle

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