TYRED AND TESTED.

If you are following me on Twitter first of all thank you and second; you may have seen my tweet yesterday promising an article will be coming up on my blog on one of the biggest issues in F1 at the moment. That issue, my friends, is the issue of tyres! Tyres have dominated the majority of paddock-related talk and management of tyre degradation is proving to be the determining factor in how a race plays out. We have only had 5 races, a quarter of the 2012 calendar, and already the one thing we can be sure of is that tyres will play a big role throughout the season.

BUT... Is this what we want to be seeing in Formula 1? Is it fair that the best cars and drivers may not be able to win races because of their tyre management? Should tyre strategy be the most important thing on race day? These are all contentious and debatable issues and I don't think there is a single F1 fan who doesn't have something to say on this matter. Some people, yes I'm thinking of you Michael Schumacher, are critical of the Pirelli 2012 tyres and don't believe that tyres should play so big a role as it's "not what a Formula 1 event should be". Others think that tyre management is just another thing drivers will have to master and that it's good for there to be more challenges faced by drivers and teams. And others don't really care about drivers but just want to see good racing. There's no doubt that Pirelli's rubber has offered this.

With 5 different winners in 5 races we are witnessing one of the most unpredictable F1 seasons ever. Some would even say that this is a 'golden era' for the sport and, given the Red Bull/Vettel supremacy over the last few years, a bit of variety in the podiums and winners isn't an unreasonable request! When team principals and drivers are interviewed they all say something along the lines of "We have no idea why this season is playing out the way it is". That is a made-up quote but if you've watched the F1 coverage this year you will know what I mean. There can be no denying that, whilst there may be many factors contributing to this crazy season, tyres may be a reason why we have such unpredictability.

How a driver can manage his tyres during his stints is clearly favouring some people more than others. These 'others' will have to learn how to treat their tyres more carefully and they will have to learn fast as it would be a shame to see them losing out on points because they are too hard on their tyres. Lewis Hamilton demonstrated the big pay-off you could get from successful tyre strategy in Spain. He only pitted twice during the race and was the only driver to do so. As a result he finished 8th after starting 24th. I was definitely thinking, towards the end of the race, that his tyres would fall away from him and he would be left with no grip. This can, as we saw with Raikkonen in China, lead to a lot of places being lost because cars overtaking you have fresher tyres and you simply wouldn't be able to compete. Hamilton managed his second set of tyres incredibly well and he was eager to point this fact out when talking to the BBC's Lee McKenzie.

There are just so many areas of debate around this issue and so many points and arguments to look at. The above covers a few of my opinions quite well but this doesn't even scratch the surface. I could talk on this topic at length but I'm sure you don't want to read everything floating around in my brain right now. So I can foresee some more tyre related posts in the future. All things considered, I think I am on the pro-Pirelli side of the fence. The tyre-manufacturers have done all asked of them and provided us with a set of tyres that have provided closer and more exciting racing. Now, who can possible be annoyed with that? Get in touch with me via commenting/tweeting and let me know what YOU think. After all, the tyres were created with you, the fan, in mind!

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

(Iamge 1: yallaf1.com, Image 2: blogs.bettor.com)