In the last 3 races I've noticed something, the people pushing their tyres seem to get the best out of them, Button in Oz, was very ragged behind Massa, yet ended up being one of the last to pit, in malaysia Button again was pushing hard to catch Vettel, and did a 'record' number of laps with them, in China it was Hamiltons turn to rag his tyres to great effect. During all this time the driver with the least tyre stops (kobayashi) is als one of the hardest drivers (IMO). Is it a case of once you get temperature in them it's best to drive the 'arris out of them? BTW, just moved from 606 as the Hamelots (Hamilton zealots) have completely taken over abd are really not doing my patience any good at all, they completely slate this site so I thought that had to be a good thing.
welcome to the forum, It seems like there is a magic amount of pushing that gets the best out of tires, Button has a smooth driving style but doesnt get the best potential out of the tyres where as Webber and hamilton are quite hard on them and depending on the track it sometimes suits and sometimes doesnt. I dont know who I would consider to have the best all round style, maybe Vettel as you dont really hear him complaining he cant get heat or his tyres have gone off early.
I think it's worth remembering the impact of KERS on tyre wear and that the biggest problem with current tyre wear is with the rear tyres. Under 'normal' conditions the greatest tyre wear to the rears occurs under acceleration, and particularly any 'suddenness' in the acceleration curve. Usually (as the result of a smooth increase in engine power), acceleration is linear. - In spite of being very steep, there is no sudden 'jump' in the acceleration curve. But KERS does not operate like this; instead, it delivers an immediate 'kick' of approximately 80 bhp; bang! - straight to the rear wheels. This has a dramatic impact on tyre wear. Therefore, when almost everyone on the grid in running KERS, those who make clumsier use of KERS will tend to experience more tyre wear, which can outweigh natural driving styles.
I admit I have not yet figured out the tyre wear performance issues just yet. I am still mulling over the permutations you refer too, KERs is an obvious significant feature, but I dont have enough evidence yet to calculate the posibilities, although one thing is for sure Q3 is not a significant advantage unless you are on the front two rows.
On the face of it 'pushing' your tyres is suicide. If you have kept back new sets that might be a reasonable tactic, but if you have partially used ones then you have to be sensible.
