The Formula 1 teams had the opportunity to try out the new evolution of Pirelli’s PZero Silver hard tire in race weekend conditions at Barcelona Friday, after two free practice sessions held in warm and dry conditions.
The teams also used the PZero Yellow soft tire, which has remained in the same specification since the start of the year and set pole position at every race held so far.
The difference in lap time between the hard and the soft tire so far has been in the region of two seconds per lap, as expected says Pirelli.
Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s Motorsport Director said: “We’re getting about 10 laps more out of the new harder tire compared to the previous version and while this obviously comes at the expense of some performance, which will not be to the liking of all the teams.”
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton qualified Pirelli's new hard tires as "a disaster" following the two practice sessions.
Facing the medias, Hamilton said “The super-hard tire is a disaster, so that wasn't nice to drive. A two-second difference, and they don't last that long.”
“It's hard, seriously hard," his teammate, Jenson Button said.
"I don't know if other people are struggling on it or not. We've all got to work with the same tire so we've got to make the best out of it. At the moment we're struggling on it, so you've got to do your best. I don't think you'd want to run more than one stint on it,” Button added.
The teams also used the PZero Yellow soft tire, which has remained in the same specification since the start of the year and set pole position at every race held so far.
The difference in lap time between the hard and the soft tire so far has been in the region of two seconds per lap, as expected says Pirelli.
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| The new Pirelli silver hard tire. (Photo: WRI2) |
Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s Motorsport Director said: “We’re getting about 10 laps more out of the new harder tire compared to the previous version and while this obviously comes at the expense of some performance, which will not be to the liking of all the teams.”
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton qualified Pirelli's new hard tires as "a disaster" following the two practice sessions.
Facing the medias, Hamilton said “The super-hard tire is a disaster, so that wasn't nice to drive. A two-second difference, and they don't last that long.”
“It's hard, seriously hard," his teammate, Jenson Button said.
"I don't know if other people are struggling on it or not. We've all got to work with the same tire so we've got to make the best out of it. At the moment we're struggling on it, so you've got to do your best. I don't think you'd want to run more than one stint on it,” Button added.