Auto Racing: F! Tires, tyre companies, rear tyres

Question
Older F1 cars had rear tires much larger than the fronts.  They now seem to be the same size.

Is this a rule or is there some rational?

Answer
Hello Russ,
Thank for the question.

Yes, it's all down to rules and regulations. The current tyre regs cam in around 8-10 years ago and specify the fronts and rears are similar. Previous rules allowed flexibility and the tyre companies and teams realised that big rear tyres allowed for better performance to get the power down effectively.

When the authorities saw increasing speeds and danger as something that need to be acted on, first they reduced the tyre dimensions to reduce cornering speeds, then they added the grooves to the 'dry tyres' to reduce cornering speeds still more.

Adam