Tires played a crucial role at last weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix, with poor choices sending world champions Ferrari out of the points, and astute ones landing underrated teams like Brawn GP and Toyota on the podium.
The twilight race was called off after 32 out of the 56 scheduled laps, following torrential downpour and fading light. Rosberg had led in the first 15 laps, even posting a three-second lead, but finished eighth.
Jarno Trulli, starting in second, followed a lap later along with Brawn GP driver and eventual winner Jenson Button, who had been trailing in third, and his teammate Rubens Barrichello.
“I really struggled with the rear end. But then I closed up on Jarno and Nico and knew I was going longer, and when they pitted I could put in a couple of quick laps. It got me in front and it was looking like it was going to be fine until I looked up and saw the clouds come over and it started raining,” said Button.
He resumed still in the lead and continued that way until it became clear just how fast Toyota’s Timo Glock, who had started in third, was going on intermediates after his stop on lap 22.
Talking reporters through his experience with his inspirational choice of tires, Glock said it was “one of the best races I could ever do”.
Heidfeld, who went straight with full wets on his first and only pit stop, said it was “the right call… a bit lucky obviously” as he eventually finished second.
Going on full wets early on, nevertheless proved to be premature and disastrous for Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, He switched to four wet laps before the relatively light rain arrived. He ended 14th.
A similar fate greeted teammate Massa, who repeatedly found himself on the wrong rubber at the wrong time.
A wet tire works very differently from a dry tire.
“A dry compound’s stickiness is similar to tank tape in the way the tire sticks to the road. But the way a wet compound works is more like starch… when you add water, it gets sticky,” said Hirohide Hamashima, director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tire Development.
“2008 World Champion” Lewis Hamilton was using wet tires and he was able to lap much faster than Timo Glock on dry tires. The conditions clearly suited the wet tires, and because of this, Lewis was able to overtake Timo on the final corner.”
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