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Formula 1's Water Cooling Tyre Trick: Fact or Fiction? Explained

Red Bull team has accused its rival McLaren of using water to cool down their Tyres during inflation. But the FIA has found no evidence of it.

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Venkatakrishnan
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Water cooling tyres

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The Latest technical topic or issue raised was the Formula 1 teams using water to cool down their tyres during the race. The McLaren team was accused of using water to cool down their tyres from overheating by its rival Red Bull. The Brazilian Grand Prix was full of controversy from Red Flag to Pirelli's Wet tyres. The race fight in Formula 1 seemed to be over in closing the gaps with each other and now the teams were fighting over technical aspects that the fans couldn't understand clearly.

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Technical issues raised in 2024

One kind of technical issue was cooling the tyres by using water inside them. In the 2024 season, we already saw many technical issues being raised like the Asymmetric braking system, Flexi Front wings, McLaren’s Mini DRS, and Red Bulls front bib adjuster.

When teams can't close up in performance level, they take some other aspects to fight with each other. Red Bull has accused teams of using water during tyre inflation to keep the temperature under control. During the United States Grand Prix, many teams accused Red Bull of using adjustable Front bibs. FIA investigated the matter and cleared Red Bull of any regulation break punishment.

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What does the rule say?

According to the Article, 10.8.4 tyres may only be inflated using air or nitrogen. Any process of intention to reduce the amount of moisture in the tyre is forbidden. The Tyre Supplier Pirelli supplies tyres that are inflated with dry air. Red Bull has said that teams can inflate the tyres along with some cooling liquid or water through the valve.

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What is the conclusion?

There was some evidence of Watermarks on the rims inside the tyre after they were stripped during the Singapore GP. But the Pirelli tyres are sensitive and over temperature, they will degrade inside the rim. From a technical point of view if a driver keeps his car's tyres cooler than every other then he will have a longer run and get some extended life span from the tyre. The FIA inspected every tyre after the Brazilian weekend and no evidence was found as said by the Red Bull team. Still, 3 races are remaining this season and McLaren and Red Bull are already on for the next weekend's race at the Las Vegas Circuit.

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Formula 1 Red Bull McLaren Las Vegas GP
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