At the American Grand Prix in Austin, Pirelli will bring three ‘medium’ trains: C2, C3 and C4. The head of the Pirelli racing division, Mario Isola, spoke about the features of the stage on the COTA circuit from the point of view of the tire manufacturers.
Mario Isola: “The Austin stage opens a series of four Grands Prix, three of which will be held in a row, in America. It all starts with the US Grand Prix – the country has a rich racing tradition, but Formula 1 only started to gain popularity a few years ago thanks to various Liberty Media initiatives.
The COTA circuit has hosted the United States Grand Prix since 2012, with one exception: the 2020 event was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I would describe COTA as a full-fledged race track where the cars have to be set up for medium to high downforce.
The first corner, on the left, is at the top of a 22-metre hill, which the riders can climb in just 200 metres. This feature makes the start particularly interesting, because riders choose different routes. This is followed by a flowing sector consisting of medium and fast corners, ending at the hairpin of Turn 11. This is followed by a long straight leading to the final part of the track, which is characterized by slow 90-degree corners.
The tires are mainly affected by lateral loads, which are distributed evenly between the front and rear wheels. There is not one specific corner on the track where special loads are applied to the tires. It is important that the car accelerates efficiently out of slow corners.
The asphalt of the route is quite bumpy, despite a partial replacement last year. This can cause the tires to slip slightly, which can be a possible cause of overheating. Tire degradation in Austin is mainly thermal, while rubber granulation is quite rare.
The race always takes place in the autumn, so the weather can be quite changeable in a short time. Often sunny and rainy days follow each other at this stage, with a fairly wide temperature range.
This year the weekend in Austin will be held in a sprint format for the first time. This is a new opportunity for fans, who are increasingly following modern Formula 1 with greater enthusiasm, to enjoy exciting events.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
