Falls off over a stint

Neutral

Fine for five laps, gone by fifteen. Almost always heat: one axle doing too much work, or pressures climbing out of the window.

The default order

The sequence for this symptom on no car in particular, at no corner in particular. Pick both and the order changes.

1. 01
   Ease the opening laps of the stint3 lapstechnique

   Most of a stint's drop-off is decided in its first three laps. Heat put into the tyre early never fully comes back out.

   Costs a little early pace for a lot of late pace. Worth it over any race distance.

2. 02
   Fewer, smaller steering correctionshalf as manytechnique

   Every correction scrubs the front tyre and puts heat into it. Over a stint, a busy wheel is worth more temperature than any setup change.

   None. It is also faster on a single lap.

3. 03
   Lift and coast into the slow corners1 lengthtechnique

   Shortening the braking zone takes heat and load out of the fronts on every lap, which is where most of a stint's drop-off comes from.

   Costs a tenth or two per lap and returns several over a stint. Only worth it in a race.

4. 04
   Raise cold pressure at the hot end0.5 psityre

   Lower pressures build more heat. Coming up a little can be net faster over a stint even though it costs peak grip.

   Sharper and less grippy on new tyres.

5. 05
   Soften the opposite end1 clickbar

   Spreads the work across all four tyres instead of cooking one axle. Balance fix and degradation fix in one.

   Check the balance hasn't gone too far.

6. 06
   Reduce camber slightly0.1°geo

   If the inner shoulder is running away from the rest of the tyre, it's taking the whole tyre with it.

   Less peak cornering grip.

7. 07
   Set balance at half fuel, not full—driver

   The car gets looser as the tail empties, so a car that's neutral on lap one is loose at the end.

   Slightly understeery out of the pits.

8. 08
   Take out some rear toe-in0.05°geo

   Toe scrubs the tyre in a straight line and adds heat you get nothing for.

   Costs the stability it was buying.

Step sizes are a first move, not a setting. Cars differ by a factor of several in how much they respond to the same change.