Coloured sidewalls for slicks http://www.f1complete.com/content/view/9759/900/ When F1 farewells grooved dry weather tyres at the end of this season, Bridgestone must come up with an alternate way of visibly distinguishing between the 'hard' and 'soft' compounds at races. It is believed the front-running idea for the return of slick tyres in 2009 is to colour white the sidewalls, rather than an inside groove as is the current practice.
The concept, and possibly others - including the possibility of colours other than white being used - will be tested prior to the beginning of the 2009 season, Bridgestone sources report.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that F1's official tyre supplier plans to use a reflective white paint for the groove for the first-ever night race in Singapore on September 28, according to the Dutch magazine Formule 1 Race Report.
Whats next ? Fluffy dice & bobble head dog on rear ?
Gilles Villeneuve: If someone said to me that you can have three wishes, my first would have been to get into racing, my second to be in Formula 1, my third to drive for Ferrari.
Painting the sidewall of the tyres is probably the best way of doing it, but I'm not sure that they should paint the whole sidewall. A ring or something would look less ugly.
I think its awesome. They were selling used tires at the San Jose GP last year for 5 bucks, and I wanted to buy one but it would've got my moms car all dirty (I dint have my license yet).
I reckon the coloured sidewalls will look alright, I prefer it to the lines down the middle of the groove.
"And Mansell was lucky not to be taken off by that RIDICULOUS bit of driving by Alliot!!" - James Hunt "AAAAAND into the pitlane..... OHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" - Murray Walker
The FIA could use that to make things more challenging for the teams and possibly improve the spectacle as a result. If you don't spot what tyres your opponents have before the white marking is worn off your strategy will be ruined. This could cause problems for Ferrari, however, for Hamilton will wear the white marking off in less than a lap, so the red team won't be able to see how McLaren is playing it!
McLaren Fan wrote:The FIA could use that to make things more challenging for the teams and possibly improve the spectacle as a result. If you don't spot what tyres your opponents have before the white marking is worn off your strategy will be ruined.
That would be great, but the FIA and a lot of fans want to know what tire each driver is on.
McLaren Fan wrote:Hamilton will wear the white marking off in less than a lap
McLaren Fan wrote:The FIA could use that to make things more challenging for the teams and possibly improve the spectacle as a result. If you don't spot what tyres your opponents have before the white marking is worn off your strategy will be ruined. This could cause problems for Ferrari, however, for Hamilton will wear the white marking off in less than a lap, so the red team won't be able to see how McLaren is playing it!