Circuit training: Pirelli's journey from race to road

At first glance Formula 1 tyres appear to have as much in common with their road-going cousins as a front wing or the sidepods do to a road car. The tall fat profile and shiny patternless tread are far removed from the low-slung knobbly black round things that you or I have adorning our wheels.

But as is becoming increasingly the case across the board in motorsport, the lessons learned on the racetrack are filtering down to the products available to consumers on the high street - or out of town business park, as tends to be the case with tyre retailers. But with road car tyres, especially at the top end, getting lower and lower profile (it's a bling thing), and slicks being simply unsuitable for everyday use - especially in the UK - where it's been raining almost solidly for the past three months - how can F1 tyre technology have any influence on our daily commute?