how to warm up tires in F125

Learn about how to warm up tires in F125


Updated October 26, 2025

If you’re struggling with how to warm up tires in F125, you’re not alone. Cold tires make the car feel numb on turn-in and snappy on exit. That’s because F1 25 simulates tire surface and carcass temperatures, plus how braking and wheelspin transfer heat. This guide gives you clear, repeatable steps to get your tires into the optimal window for qualifying laps, formation laps, and Safety Car restarts.

Quick Answer

Build heat with controlled energy: weave smoothly on straights, perform a few firm braking “stabs” to warm fronts, use gentle throttle bursts to warm rears, and monitor temps on the Tyres MFD. Adjust brake bias slightly forward and consider a click higher front pressures if fronts lag. Aim for green temps before your push lap.

Why how to warm up tires in F125 Feels So Hard at First

  • You exit the pits, turn the wheel, and the car just won’t bite—or it suddenly oversteers. That’s cold tire behavior.
  • In F1 25, tires have a temperature sweet spot. Until you put energy into them (through load, braking, and mild slip), grip is low. Too much energy, and they overheat and go “greasy.”

By the end of this guide, you’ll know exactly how to prepare tires on out-laps, formation laps, and after Safety Cars—and how to tweak your setup so they warm consistently.

What how to warm up tires in F125 Actually Means in F1 25

  • “Warming up” is bringing tire temps into their optimal window and keeping them there for a full push lap.
  • You can view tire temps on the in-car MFD > Tyres page (look for four tire icons with temps/wear) and via the HUD temp widgets. Colors typically indicate status: blue (cold), green (optimal), red (overheating).
  • General targets (these can vary slightly by patch and track):
    • Slicks (Soft/Medium/Hard): roughly 85–100°C is a safe working zone.
    • Inters/Wets: lower targets; avoid prolonged red temps—stay in the cooler “green” zone.
  • Fronts mainly heat via braking and cornering load; rears heat via traction (throttle) and sustained lateral load.

Before You Start (Prerequisites)

  • Hardware: Works with wheel or controller. Tips apply to both.
  • Modes to practice:
    • Grand Prix (with formation lap and Safety Car enabled) for race scenarios.
    • Career/My Team for real practice with your setup and track conditions.
    • Avoid Time Trial for warm-up practice—tires are near-perfect by default.
  • In-game menus you’ll use:
    • Pause > On-Track > MFD: Switch to Tyres page while driving.
    • Settings > On-Screen Display (OSD): Enable tire temps/telemetry widgets.
    • Garage > Car Setup: Tyre Pressures, Camber, Toe.
    • MFD > Car Setup on track (where allowed): Brake Bias adjustment.
  • Optional mappings:
    • Map buttons for MFD left/right, Tyres panel, and Brake Bias +/-.

Step-by-Step: How to Fix / Improve how to warm up tires in F125

  1. Enable tire telemetry and MFD access
  • In Settings > OSD/HUD, enable any Tyre Temperature widgets.
  • On track, open MFD > Tyres. Success looks like: You can glance down and see each tire’s temperature color/values.
  1. Know your lap purpose
  • Out-lap to start a push lap: you want green temps at the final corner.
  • Formation lap/SC restart: you want green temps arriving at the grid/start line.
  1. Start with straight-line brake stabs (fronts)
  • On a straight, accelerate to medium speed and apply 60–90% brake for 1–2 seconds, then release. Repeat 3–5 times with safe gaps.
  • Keep the car straight to avoid lockups. Success looks like: Front tires changing toward green; improved turn-in on the next corner.
  1. Add controlled weaving (all four, especially fronts)
  • On longer straights, weave smoothly—gentle steering inputs, not sharp flicks.
  • Combine with light trail braking into medium-speed corners to add front load. Success looks like: More responsive steering, less initial understeer.
  1. Warm the rears with traction, not burnouts
  • Out of slow corners, apply throttle progressively. Allow a hint of slip, but no big wheelspin.
  • If you use high Traction Control, you may need slightly firmer throttle to generate heat. If TC is off, be delicate to avoid overheating. Success looks like: Rear temps move toward green; car feels planted on exit.
  1. Adjust brake bias slightly forward while warming
  • Use MFD > Car Setup > Brake Bias +1–2% forward to boost front temperatures via braking.
  • Remember to return it for the push lap (common race range varies by driver/track). Success looks like: Front temps catch up without frequent lockups.
  1. Final prep before push lap
  • In the last sector, do one or two more firm brake stabs, then a quick but controlled acceleration to prep the rears.
  • Start your lap with tires in green. Avoid big slides in the first corners to keep them there.
  1. Formation lap specifics
  • Leave a gap to the car ahead so you can weave and brake safely.
  • On the final straight, one short, straight-line throttle burst can top up rear temps.
  • Line up on the grid with temps in green; avoid sitting stationary too long if possible.
  1. Safety Car specifics
  • Alternate gentle weaving and brake stabs; keep it smooth to avoid penalties.
  • Use second/third-gear throttle squeezes on straights to nudge rear temps.
  • Aim to be in green by the final corners before the restart.

Common Mistakes and Myths About how to warm up tires in F125

  • Over-weaving: Fast, sharp sawing just scrubs rubber and risks a spin. Smooth arcs work best.
  • Brake dragging the whole lap: Constant light braking overheats fronts. Use deliberate, short stabs instead.
  • Big burnouts: Looks cool, overheats rears, and destroys traction for Turn 1.
  • Ignoring brake temps: Cold brakes = cold fronts. A few hard stops are essential.
  • Using Time Trial for warm-up practice: TT conditions don’t represent real warm-up behavior.

Troubleshooting and “What If It Still Feels Wrong?”

  • Fronts stay blue, rears overheat

    • Likely cause: Not enough front energy; too much rear slip.
    • Fixes:
      • Add 1–2% forward brake bias during warm-up.
      • Increase front tire pressures one click.
      • Add a touch more front camber or front toe (small increments).
      • Be gentler on throttle; avoid big slides.

  • Rears won’t warm, car understeers everywhere

    • Likely cause: You’re ultra-smooth on throttle with high TC; not enough rear load.
    • Fixes:
      • Slightly firmer throttle on exits to generate mild slip.
      • Consider 1 click higher rear pressure.
      • Longer mid-corner throttle maintenance to keep energy in the carcass.

  • Temps spike red, grip drops quickly

    • Likely cause: Sliding/locking. You’re overheating the surface.
    • Fixes:
      • Smooth out steering and throttle; reduce aggressive inputs.
      • Reduce rear pressures one click if rears are the issue.
      • Lower on-throttle wheelspin; if you run very low diff and spin the inside tire, modulate throttle more carefully.

  • Can’t see tire temps in the HUD/MFD

    • Likely cause: OSD disabled or wrong MFD page.
    • Fixes:
      • Enable tire temps in Settings > OSD/HUD.
      • Map a button to cycle to MFD > Tyres.

  • Tires cold at Turn 1 after Formation Lap

    • Likely cause: Not enough energy in the last sector.
    • Fixes:
      • Add 1–2 firm brake stabs and a controlled throttle squeeze on the final straight.
      • Leave a larger gap earlier so you can warm safely.

  • Wet weather weirdness

    • Likely cause: Treating wets like slicks.
    • Fixes:
      • Use lighter weaving and more brake stabs for front heat.
      • Stay on damp patches to prevent overheating on inters/wets.
      • Avoid prolonged wheelspin—wet tires overheat fast on dry lines.

Note: If your setup tweaks don’t seem to apply, make sure you saved the setup before leaving the garage.

Pro Tips Once You’re Comfortable

  • Setup nudges that help warm-up:
    • Tyre Pressures: Higher warms faster; lower runs cooler/longer. Use small changes (1 click).
    • Camber/Toe: More negative camber and a touch more toe increase scrub/heat but add wear/drag. Adjust sparingly.
    • Brake Pressure: Higher pressure warms fronts faster but increases lockup risk if ABS is off.
  • Track and compound matter:
    • Hards and cold tracks need more work (extra brake stabs, slightly higher pressures).
    • Street circuits with short straights require you to use corners (trail brake and mid-corner load) to generate heat.
  • Preserve the window:
    • Once green, drive smoothly for the first sector of the push lap. Big slides will push you into red and ruin the lap.

How to Know It’s Working (Definition of Done)

  • Checklist on your out/formation lap:
    • You can open MFD > Tyres and see all four tires green approaching the final corner.
    • Turn-in bite improves; less initial understeer.
    • Rear traction out of slow corners is predictable with only minor slip.
    • On your push lap, temps stay mostly green through Sector 1 without spikes into red.
  • Now that you’ve dialed in how to warm up tires in F125, the next big gain usually comes from braking. Read our guide on F125 brake bias and trail braking.
  • Struggling with rear traction on exits? Check out our F125 traction and throttle modulation guide.
  • Want to fine-tune consistency over a stint? See our F125 tire pressures and camber/toe setup basics.

Your subscribe form goes here