Have you ever wondered why F1 Tires get Scraped after a Race? 😯 (@Formula1)

Have you ever wondered why F1 tires get scraped after a race? A lot of people think it is so that teams can save money and reuse them, but that's not really the case. After a very long and difficult race, the tires often build up large chunks of rubber and track debris on their surface, due to the build up of temperature. The teams are often seen using a heat gun and a scraper to remove the sticky and glue like layer of the tires. After creating a clean section of the used tire underneath. It is then used for analysis of tire performance which can help teams guide their strategy on future races.

[PenguinGaming]

The chunks of rubber are actually called marbles

[StormyCalm]

Just got into F1 since mid-summer. I love it! But i have joked that F1 is an entire sport focused on tire management.

[jetfight]

Idk about you guys but when i see an F1 team i think these guys are really saving money

[handlesRdumb]

Because that's where the flavor is

[nosheenakhtar]

the amount of technology in those cars is actually insane

[DarkKnight]

Well the first layer is put by the pilots at the end of the race, so they can get some extra kilograms, and higher up their cars so the wood is not being damaged any more.

[andytomo]

The big chunks you see on final stint tyres are called Marbles. Theses are scatted off the racing line but on the in lap, drivers will drive off-line to pick them up on their tyres, this will slightly increase the cars weight so they can take off a few grams from the car before the race but still not be underweight after the race.

[unmeitobaku]

No, I've actually never wondered that..

[HankOnWheels]

We do the same when autocrossing, but for a different reason. The built up rubber is usually called OPR or other-people's-rubber. In between runs, we heat and scrape this off to have better grip on the next run using the same set of tires.

[Fugitive_]

Whether its racing or not when rubber is heated enough itll peel right off same for plastic these rubber chunks are referred to as marbles tire wear on the track thats sometimes used as a punishment for overtracking or track cutting they refer to it as marbles because it feels like rolling on marbles
NASCAR and Drag strips also do this for drag strips its mostly on slicks

[Kensuke]

i couldn't even wonder about it as i didn't even know that they did that at all

[TheMaghorn]

The teams don't get to keep the tires, they're sent back to Pirreli for research to hep develop better racing and road tires. That's why Michelin, Firestone and Goodyear are also involved in motorsport in the US.

[goosey]

I had no idea they did this - and that they look in pretty good shape once that top thin layer is gone - interesting!

[jaytee]

Not only in F1, also witnessed this practice in F3, only in F3 the tyres were reused, I guess this may happen in other race classes.

[riccardoguareschi]

also, the drivers at the end of the race go around to collect marbles to increase the weight of the car before post-race checks

[JonOroMusic]

What song is this? I wanna listen to it on my moto.

[HolyGuacamolean]

Nobody who watches motorsport believes they scrape tires to then be able to reuse them. 🤦🏻‍♂️ 🙄

[leonhaku]

If anyone actually thought something rational like “ohhh, to maybe reuse it in the next race perhaps 😊”
Id tell you to look up the budget for each which sometimes even rivals the gdp of some countries.

[Arcanefungus]

And here i thought they got... Tired... Okay, im leaving

[SaintDorado]

Literally nobody thinks that F1 teams will re-use raceD tires LOL