Enzo Ferrari asserted that the British manufacturers should not boast the title of constructors since they did not do everything at home but bought the components from the best suppliers on the market using the name of Garagisti. The old Drake also knew that with the mechanical modifications you gain tenths but with the tires that work well you can also recover the seconds. In any case, even a total constructor like Ferrari and Mercedes has to deal with some components that inevitably he has to buy. The tires and the rims on which they fit. The difference is also in choosing the best suppliers who offer the best material and the best technology possible.
All this to explain that both Mercedes but also Redbull then used a particular surface coating for the inside of their rims. As you can see in the photo on the left there is a Mercedes rim with a black coating with lugs and on the right the RedBull one with an identical black coating but with a series of small dimples. This coating was created by an Italian manufacturer Nanoprom, and is a surface paint based on a component called Polisyl. In practice it is a surface coating that protects surfaces that wear out from atmospheric agents and also used on boats significantly improves penetration into the water for the reduction of friction it is said that this paint is also used for the bodywork of the Redbull to improve aerodynamic penetration.
Using this product on a formula 1 rim has the function of stabilizing and increasing the outflow of hot air from the brakes inside the rim to the outside by straightening the turbulence that is enormous in that area. A controlled flow inside the wheel also allows you to keep the temperature of the magnesium rim under control. Since magnesium is an excellent thermal conductor, the heat is directly transferred to the tires with all known damage. It goes without saying that controlling the non-swirling flows can also allow the teams to have the rims in the desired temperatures to make the rim work as a sort of internal electric blanket in the race according to the needs.
The thermal camera in the photo shows how the Red Bull uses this protective paint and internal dimples to keep the temperature constant when cornering by removing hot air to the outside more quickly. As you can see in the images above, a corner faced by Vettel in Austin, the temperature at the corner entry is higher than in the final phase of the corner where it should be higher due to the effort in the corners. But the surprising thing is the usefulness of this paint on straights as seen in the lower part of the photo with hot tires also on the straight. Together with the flaps and the dimples the air flow can be controlled in its elimination or stagnation. If you can control the flow rate of hot air from the brakes, the rims are kept warm even on long straights. It goes without saying that if a rim remains hot even the rubber that remains on top is kept warm and at corner entry there is the ideal temperature while the other Ferrari cars in the lead enter the corners on cold tires with an evident loss of grip and then warm up. too much not being able to control the temperatures in the middle of the curve. A system of this kind, however simple it may be, can also bring advantages in terms of lap times of up to eight tenths of a second on certain tracks. In fact, let's go back to the starting point if the Pirelli tires work well, you earn much more than any mechanical or aerodynamic devilry. The fact that this company the Nanoprom is in the Emilian land and its beneficial effects were discovered first in the UK by companies such as Mercedes and RedBull, says a lot about the fact that it makes no sense to build everything yourself if you then neglect certain details that make a huge difference.

Daniele Amore

[Source: giornalemotori.com]