Tire management will remain a key in 2014

Pirelli – which recently renewed its contract as the official supplier for the next three seasons – returns at the dawn of this new year with new tires, harder and more consistent than the previous ones. According to the Italian manufacturer itself, the goal is to limit the graining and expand the optimal usage range of the tires.

However, in an interview with our colleagues at Autosport, on the sidelines of the Bahrain trials, Valtteri Bottas expressed his concerns on the subject: “I think it will be more difficult to manage the tires this year, even though they are a little bit harder. Is it the fault of the new V6? The Finn confirms: “I think that with more torque, you have to pay more attention to the accelerator pedal. […] It’s going to be a bit more complicated, and the conditions here are still quite cool. So I think tire management will be even more important than last year.”

Same story on the Force India side with Nico Hülkenberg, who admits that it is very easy to spin the tires, before continuing: You can spin them very easily. I experienced it several times on the straight, where I spun the rear wheels and left rubber for a hundred meters. It’s fun, but not very good for performance…

While all the fans are waiting for less constraining tires for the drivers, it seems that this will not be the case this year again. The new V6 engine block – thanks to its turbo action – delivers more power at low revs. As a result, accelerations are sharper when exiting corners, causing the tires to heat up rapidly and increasing their degradation.

Like previous seasons, tire management will therefore hold its share of surprises. Tires are quite difficult to manage in terms of degradation. It’s so easy to make the rear tires spin and damage them, that I see it as a challenge, concluded Valtteri Bottas. For better or for worse?