What bugs me about racing on TV, tires

[s_morrison57]

I love the coverage, the different camera angles etc. but I really feel that the coverage is missing the boat when it comes to tires. The big deal for this weekends F1 race was the tire wear on the soft compound and the team strategies that went along with it but I never saw 1 tire, or a comparison between new and worn out. No tire temps either. Maybe the tire companies don't want us to see their ravaged rubber. Maybe there's a rule about showing the worn out tires but I'd like to see that kinda thing, there's a tire expert at every F1 race why don't we ever hear from them.
What is the tire rule this year in F1, what are the compounds they have to use and how many sets do they get for the weekend?
Finn

[Noah930]

What you see on TV (for F1, at least) is a generic world-feed. Dictated by the FIA. So while NBC is free to do audio for the broadcast, they are limited in what video they can show.

Tire rule: You get 6 sets of rubber for qualifying and the race. 3 of each set. FIA dictates which 2 compounds are to be available for the weekend. You must use at least one set of each tire compound during the race. However, if it rains then that's not necessary (because obviously it would be too dangerous to mandate using slicks in the wet).

Pirelli has made 6 different tire compounds for the entire season. There's a full wet rain tire. An intermediate wet tire. And then 4 different compounds of varying "hardness" of slicks. Of those 4 different slick compounds, Pirelli and the FIA will only bring 2 to each race weekend.

[oldE]

Having watched the races and tire changes I would also submit that the difference between a well scrubbed tire in good racing condition and a tire which "has fallen off the cliff" performance-wise is not something which lends itself to TV. In previous years you could see the tire degrade and get a feel for when it was nearing the end of its life. Now the only ones who know are the driver and those with the telemetry (or timing the laps).

The change in performance seems to be due to a chemical/physical change in the structure of the rubber. Not something one could necessarily judge at a glance.
Watching Vettel catch up to Hamilton in the last five laps and the performance of the rubber in the last corner was an excellent indicator of the rapid and dramatic changes these tires can exhibit. But I couldn't tell the difference by looking at the car.

Best
Les

[VaSteve]

NASCAR is the same way. They always talk about havin g different tires for different tracks, but never say WHY or HOW they are different. They discuss wear, but never talk about anything technical. Racing on TV isn't just for car guys.