Drivers 'pleased' with lack of trauma
Credit: PlanetF1.com (www.planetf1.com)
The Formula One teams wrapped up their first run on Pirelli tyres on Saturday, with drivers impressed with the new rubber.
New World Champion Sebastian Vettel said the tyres "were already better than expected" after testing at the Yas Marina circuit, where the 23-year-old Red Bull driver won the title last Sunday.
Fernando Alonso ran 105 laps for the quickest time of the session ahead of Vettel, who beat the Ferrari driver at the final race to take the Championship. Alonso's time was one minute, 40.529 seconds - nearly three-tenths faster than Vettel.
The double World Champion said he doesn't expect the switch from Bridgestone to Pirelli to be a "traumatic one."
"We had no particular problems ... (and) we are pleased with the way we worked and in how we were able to adapt the setup of the car to suit the new tyres, especially in terms of the work we can do on the new car in preparation for next season," said Alonso, who was upbeat despite returning to the circuit where he arrived as Championship leader but watched Vettel snatch the title.
"I would think it's the same thing the Dutch football players felt when they lost the World Cup final back in July. Then, after a few weeks, they realised they had achieved something, while so many others had not even got anywhere close."The same goes for us. The final victory eluded us, but in any case we had a great season, with a fantastic fight-back in the second part of the year."
Michael Schumacher, making his come-back this year, had blamed his poor performance throughout the season on the fact that tyre technology had changed so much since he last raced.
"We gathered a lot of data and insights, and have positive feedback. I am probably the only driver to have driven with Pirelli tyres before but it was 20 years ago and I didn't have any certain expectations before today," the 41-year-old Schumacher said.
"In terms of consistency, it looked quite good but we were using the 2010 car today and it will be all about how these tyres suit our 2011 car."Schumacher's 2011 title hopes hinge on Mercedes being able to adapt to the Italian brand, which returns to F1 for this first time since 1991.
Schumacher's return was marked by a car that appeared unsuited to Bridgestones, who became F1's only tyre supplier when Michelin quit at the end of 2006.
Pirelli will hold a private test in Bahrain from 12-16 December, but the next scheduled tests involving all teams don't begin again until February.
Credit: PlanetF1.com (www.planetf1.com)
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