Very interesting F1 info from Spa
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The sheer volume of new information that came out of the FIA hearing last weekend was fascinating, especially the little nuggets of technical data we never knew before.
Apparently Ferrari has been using an unusual gas to inflate their tyres - one that has specific thermal properties that help reduce the internal temperature of the tyre and thus reduce blistering.
I did a bit of investigation about this. There is no specific rule concerning what teams can use to inflate their tyres.
Bridgestone supply the tyres inflated with air. Then each team deflates the tyres and re-inflates them with whatever gas they like.
Nitrogen has been standard, because unlike air, it does not expand when it gets hot and therefore keeps a constant tyre pressure.
But Pedro De La Rosa and Fernando Alonso got very excited about this other gas Ferrari might have been using to actively control the tyre's temperature. It worked for Ferrari, but a Bridgestone engineer told De La Rosa he doubted it would work for McLaren, and it was never tested, despite Alonso wanting to try it 'as a priority'.
It is difficult to get a confirmed answer as to what this gas was, but amongst the people I asked, Argon was favourite, followed by the rather more exotic Neon, Krypton and Xenon.
Is this why Ferrari have been able to run on the soft tyres for long stints this year, while McLaren cannot?
Then there were the other technical secrets:
Ferrari's weight distribution, which surprised Alonso (presumably in how far forward it was compared with his Renault).
The fact that McLaren were testing a flexible wing that De La Rosa says is "a copy of the system we think Ferrari uses" (aren't flexi wings banned?)
And the fact Ferrari had a driver-operated braking system that McLaren thought was worth investigating.
Just as significant was the fact that all these emails were between Coughlan, De La Rosa and Alonso, and not once did they feel the need to include Lewis Hamilton.
At that early point of the season in March, when the emails were written, Alonso and De La Rosa were working together for Alonso's benefit - Pedro would test things on the car for Alonso and they would discuss the findings between them.
This is something that has angered the Hamilton camp, since it was all made public.
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I saw Fernando Alonso on the top floor of Red Bull's motorhome, talking to Christian Horner and, significantly, to Paul Monaghan, who was Fernando's race engineer for three years at Renault.
Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz was also at Spa on Sunday. Now if that's not grounds enough for an 'Alonso to Red Bull, Webber to McLaren' story, then I don't know what is.
The rest of the juicy info here:
http://www.itv-f1.com/Feature.aspx?Type=Ted_Kravitz&PO_ID=40752
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