Drivers can now start the race on any tyre

[PTRACER]

This is great news. The FIA has announced that drivers no longer have to start on their old Q2 tyres, they can start the race on a brand new set of any tyre of their choice. Finally some common sense is setting in at the top.

[John]

For the best. The gap between the teams were so big that RBR and Merc would almost always walk through Q2 on the medium and have an even bigger advantage.

[DownForce]

Why not have just one type of compound for each race locations. Level the playing field like it used to be.

[Star]

I never thought it made sense to have to start on used tyres. It should shake things up again in a different way and push back when they need to pit after the start of the race.

[Michkov]

Why not have just one type of compound for each race locations. Level the playing field like it used to be.

Used to be was pretty much never, not even in the spec supplier days. I can't recall F1 drivers having only a single option of tyre available. Early days, you could even see teams switching suppliers mid weekend, depending on how well the different compounds performed. Later then, we see drivers using a mixture of compounds on each corner, see Mexico 86. I for one, would like to see the teams have more liberty with their choice of tyres and pressure again.

[DownForce]

Why not have just one type of compound for each race locations. Level the playing field like it used to be.

Used to be was pretty much never, not even in the spec supplier days. I can't recall F1 drivers having only a single option of tyre available. Early days, you could even see teams switching suppliers mid weekend, depending on how well the different compounds performed. Later then, we see drivers using a mixture of compounds on each corner, see Mexico 86. I for one, would like to see the teams have more liberty with their choice of tyres and pressure again.

How about the days with groove tires , did they have different compounds ? I thought its all the same i.e. no soft, medium, hard, with one supplier in Bridgestone , no?

[Everso Biggyballies]

Why not have just one type of compound for each race locations. Level the playing field like it used to be.

Used to be was pretty much never, not even in the spec supplier days. I can't recall F1 drivers having only a single option of tyre available. Early days, you could even see teams switching suppliers mid weekend, depending on how well the different compounds performed. Later then, we see drivers using a mixture of compounds on each corner, see Mexico 86. I for one, would like to see the teams have more liberty with their choice of tyres and pressure again.

How about the days with groove tires , did they have different compounds ? I thought its all the same i.e. no soft, medium, hard, with one supplier in Bridgestone , no?

ISTR no different compounds in the grooved era. But I do recall Michelin being in and supplying all but the first couple and lst couple of years of grooved tyres. (Grooved tyres were 1999-2008 inclusive, Michelin were in from 2001-end 2006. 2005 was the no tyre changing year, and the year of the 6 car USGP, the event which showed to Michelin the only way was out, with the FIA by then inwardly decided of making F1 tyres non competitive (ie sole manufacturer) and that they were not the preferred brand the FIA wanted.

[Michkov]

Why not have just one type of compound for each race locations. Level the playing field like it used to be.

Used to be was pretty much never, not even in the spec supplier days. I can't recall F1 drivers having only a single option of tyre available. Early days, you could even see teams switching suppliers mid weekend, depending on how well the different compounds performed. Later then, we see drivers using a mixture of compounds on each corner, see Mexico 86. I for one, would like to see the teams have more liberty with their choice of tyres and pressure again.

How about the days with groove tires , did they have different compounds ? I thought its all the same i.e. no soft, medium, hard, with one supplier in Bridgestone , no?

As long as there are two manufacturers, there should've been multiple options, even if the general public wasn't in the know. Because why wouldn't you bring multiple options if you can. From the monopoly of 2007 onwards, we had at least a soft and hard compound choice. Softs being marked by a white then green stripe in the groove, later on the sidewall. Similar to how Pirelli marks theirs now, just without using the full rainbow.

[XcraigX]

Waits for one driver to select a set of Michelins from 2004...

[Aty]

This particular change in rules pleases me immensely. I've never understood why a team cannot choose tires Sunday morning based on mix of environmental conditions, and adjusted strategy after qualifications results. This might be a right step towards better racing.

[PTRACER]

This particular change in rules pleases me immensely. I've never understood why a team cannot choose tires Sunday morning based on mix of environmental conditions, and adjusted strategy after qualifications results. This might be a right step towards better racing.

Top 10 locked into their Q2 tyre, bottom 10 get a free choice. Some kind of performance balancing that did not influence a single race from what I could see.

[Aty]

This particular change in rules pleases me immensely. I've never understood why a team cannot choose tires Sunday morning based on mix of environmental conditions, and adjusted strategy after qualifications results. This might be a right step towards better racing.

Top 10 locked into their Q2 tyre, bottom 10 get a free choice. Some kind of performance balancing that did not influence a single race from what I could see.

Oh that I didn't know. Thanks anyway.

[Picci]

I read some feedback from the drivers that these new 18-inch tyres don’t have as much a tendency to overheat as did the other Pirelli ones, and that they can attack more on them. This could only be good news for us although it does seem that we’ll be having fewer pitstops.