Today
saw the start of a new era for Formula 1 as it marked
the return of Pirelli tyres to an official test on track
and for Ferrari it denoted a return to the Italian tyre
brand more than half a century after its rubber was last
shod on a Prancing Horse F1 car.
For Ferrari today at the
Abu Dhabi circuit, which hosted the F1 season closer
last Sunday, it fell to Felipe Massa to be the first to
try the new tyres. The Brazilian completed a total of 94
laps, the quickest in a time of 1.40.170.
It was a positive start to begin to understand the
behaviour of the Pirelli tyres, remarked Massa at the
end of the session. I felt at ease right from the start
and there were no unpleasant surprises. We tried two
different types and acquired a lot of data which will be
useful for the Italian company to develop the tyres
still further for the start of the 2011 season: on the
hards, there were some difficulties over a long run
while the softs worked well both on the very first lap
and also after they had done a larger number of laps.
I wish to take this opportunity to welcome back Pirelli
to Formula 1, commented Stefano Domenicali. It is nice
to see two symbols of Italian excellence together on
track. I am sure that Pirelli will make a very important
contribution to our sport in terms of professionalism
and technical research. Testing at this track continues
tomorrow, when Fernando Alonso will be on track for the
Scuderia.
