Brazilian driver Felipe Massa of the Scuderia Ferrari topped the first day of Pirelli tire testing in Abu Dhabi, the first time that Formula 1 teams have tried the Italian manufacturer's new 2011 tires.
Just four sets of Pirelli tires were available to each team for the first day.
New F1 champion Sebastian Vettel was the quickest this morning, but his time was beaten by Massa (sporting a new red helmet à la Schumacher) in the afternoon.
This was a huge relief for Massa who complained throughout the 2010 season that Bridgestone tire warm-up struggles were to blame for his poor qualifying performances.
Vettel, driving the Red Bull, did a 1:40.5, which is about two seconds slower than Daniel Ricciardo's Bridgestone-shod time set in the Red Bull earlier this week.
It must be noted that most teams were also running with the new mandatory weight distribution setup for 2011.
Just four sets of Pirelli tires were available to each team for the first day.
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| Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull (Photo: WRI2) |
New F1 champion Sebastian Vettel was the quickest this morning, but his time was beaten by Massa (sporting a new red helmet à la Schumacher) in the afternoon.
This was a huge relief for Massa who complained throughout the 2010 season that Bridgestone tire warm-up struggles were to blame for his poor qualifying performances.
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| Felipe Massa, Ferrari (Photo: WRI2) |
Vettel, driving the Red Bull, did a 1:40.5, which is about two seconds slower than Daniel Ricciardo's Bridgestone-shod time set in the Red Bull earlier this week.
It must be noted that most teams were also running with the new mandatory weight distribution setup for 2011.
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| Nico Rosberg, Mercedes GP (Photo: WRI2) |