From formula1.com
Former Sauber Motorsport driver Pedro de la Rosa has concluded a two-day test for Pirelli at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya, Spain.
It was De la Rosa's second appearance as a test driver for the Italian company, who will become Formula One racing's official tire supplier from next season, following his debut in the role at Valencia just over two weeks ago.
The 39-year-old Spaniard tried out Pirelli's intermediate and wet tires in Valencia, but for the Barcelona test he concentrated on their medium and hard compound slick tires for the first time, refining the package that had already been formulated from previous tests.
"It's been an excellent couple of days; I've been very impressed because I have to say that the tyres were at an even higher level than I imagined," he said.
"If you look at what Pirelli has done, it's hard to believe that all this work has been carried out in such a short space of time. These Pirelli tyres have their own quite different characteristics to the current supplier that the drivers will appreciate next year and I'm confident that they will form a very competitive package. Pirelli's arrival is great news for Formula One."
[artid link="123090"]Pedro de la Rosa[/link]'s work included validating the conclusions drawn from past tests in Mugello and Jerez, as well as looking at different ways to make the medium and hard tires even more effective.
By the end of the two days, Pirelli was close to defining the rubber that will be taken to Abu Dhabi for the Formula One teams to try out at next month's post-season test.
Pirelli's next Formula One tests will take place at France's Paul Ricard HTTT circuit in early November, where De la Rosa will concentrate on further development of their soft and super-soft tires - two of the four compounds (along with the hard and the medium) that will be offered to all of the Formula One teams next year.
Former Sauber Motorsport driver Pedro de la Rosa has concluded a two-day test for Pirelli at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya, Spain.
It was De la Rosa's second appearance as a test driver for the Italian company, who will become Formula One racing's official tire supplier from next season, following his debut in the role at Valencia just over two weeks ago.
The 39-year-old Spaniard tried out Pirelli's intermediate and wet tires in Valencia, but for the Barcelona test he concentrated on their medium and hard compound slick tires for the first time, refining the package that had already been formulated from previous tests.
"It's been an excellent couple of days; I've been very impressed because I have to say that the tyres were at an even higher level than I imagined," he said.
"If you look at what Pirelli has done, it's hard to believe that all this work has been carried out in such a short space of time. These Pirelli tyres have their own quite different characteristics to the current supplier that the drivers will appreciate next year and I'm confident that they will form a very competitive package. Pirelli's arrival is great news for Formula One."
[artid link="123090"]Pedro de la Rosa[/link]'s work included validating the conclusions drawn from past tests in Mugello and Jerez, as well as looking at different ways to make the medium and hard tires even more effective.
By the end of the two days, Pirelli was close to defining the rubber that will be taken to Abu Dhabi for the Formula One teams to try out at next month's post-season test.
Pirelli's next Formula One tests will take place at France's Paul Ricard HTTT circuit in early November, where De la Rosa will concentrate on further development of their soft and super-soft tires - two of the four compounds (along with the hard and the medium) that will be offered to all of the Formula One teams next year.