A month before Christmas, F1 teams and drivers have retired to consider the impact of the sport’s new sole tyre supplier.<\/p>\n
The 2010 grid got its first taste of new partner Pirelli’s recent development efforts with a two-day test in Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n
Paying particular attention were drivers like Felipe Massa and Michael Schumacher, who notably struggled with departed Bridgestone’s tyres this year.<\/p>\n
Schumacher’s Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg raised alarm bells when, asked to compare Pirelli with Bridgestone after his running on Friday, he used words like “worse”, “weaker” and “slower”.<\/p>\n
Massa, however, set Friday’s best time and said he was happy, while Schumacher was cautious.<\/p>\n
“We were using the 2010 car,” he said on Saturday after almost matching pacesetter Fernando Alonso’s best time, “and it will be all about how these tyres suit our 2011 car.”<\/p>\n
But Brazil’s Agencia Estado quoted him as sounding more positive.<\/p>\n
“These are not the final tyres but the ones I used today seemed to suit my style a bit more, especially the fronts,” said Schumacher.<\/p>\n
Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi also noticed some key differences compared with Bridgestone.<\/p>\n
“We did our best start of the year!” the Swiss enthused to Auto Hebdo when talking about his first impression of the Pirellis.<\/p>\n
“You can also brake very hard and very late.\u00a0 On acceleration, the traction is poor and you lose a lot of grip, and the wear also seems higher.<\/p>\n
“And on a long run the soft tyres wore much less than the hard tyres.\u00a0 In my opinion, they (Pirelli) made a mistake and they’ve already said they’ll change it.<\/p>\n
“The front tyres are good.\u00a0 They respond well,” added Buemi.<\/p>\n
To Agencia Estado, Williams’ Rubens Barrichello concurred: “The front of the car grips a little more than the rear.”<\/p>\n
Said Pirelli’s Paul Hembery: “According to what we have learned in Abu Dhabi, we will change the compounds, but not the construction.”<\/p>\n
And he added: “The drivers especially enjoyed the performance of our front tyre, which is an area that we have worked on considerably.”<\/p>\n
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