Gallery: The Brutally Secretive Life of the Racing Tire

  • Image may contain Transportation Vehicle Automobile Car Human Person Formula One Fire Truck and Truck
    Dominic Ebenbichler/Reuters
    01

    RacingTire-RTX2JHEP.jpg

    At the Austrian GP last week, the rear right tire on Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari disintegrated, ending his race.
  • Image may contain Transportation Vehicle Race Car Automobile Sports Car Car Human Person Pit Stop and Footwear
    Tom Fowlks for WIRED
    02

    FolksTire1.jpg

    Like most everything on an F1 car, tires are designed to operate at a certain temperatures. Deviate from that and performance suffers. At the 2014 US GP in Austin, Red Bull mechanics put heated blankets on tires to keep them warm, and use dry ice to blow cool air over the engine radiators.
  • Image may contain Human Person Tent Musical Instrument Musician and Tripod
    Tom Fowlks for WIRED
    03

    FolksTire4.jpg

    Tire companies are fiercely protective of their IP, marking and tracking each tire they make.
  • This image may contain Tire Human Person Helmet Clothing and Apparel
    Tom Fowlks for WIRED
    04

    FolksTire2.jpg

    Ignoring the festivities, team mechanics wash the tires to make them look good, and to wash off dirt that adds weight and hurts aerodynamics. After the race, the tires will be shipped overseas and incinerated, to keep Pirelli's secret compounds away from competitors.
  • Image may contain Building Electronics Tent Screen Monitor and Display
    Tom Fowlks for WIRED
    05

    FolksTire3.jpg

    After all, these are the most technologically advanced products these companies produce, and everything about them eventually makes its way to the tires on your car. And that is where the real money is made.
  • Image may contain Tire Wheel Machine Car Wheel Alloy Wheel and Spoke
    Tom Fowlks for WIRED
    06

    FolksTire5.jpg

    Used tires go to incinerators in unmarked trucks, accompanied by security guards.
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