Pirelli tyre test day 1: Full lap times data

F1 2011 testing

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Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Abu Dhabi, 2010

As well as setting fastest time Felipe Massa did the longest individual stint on the new Pirelli tyres in the first test on them at Abu Dhabi today.

Having often struggled with the Bridgestone tyres this year Massa was pleased with how his first run on Pirellis went. He said:

It was a positive start to begin to understand the behaviour of the Pirelli tyres. I felt at ease right from the start and there were no unpleasant surprises.
Felipe Massa

All laps

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Tick/untick drivers’ names to show their laps, click and drag to zoom

The interactive graph above shows all the lap times set by all the drivers in the first Pirelli test session at Abu Dhabi. It does not include laps in and out of the pits.

As there are a lot of lap times plotted on the graph you may find it easier to view the full-screen version.

On both versions you can click and drag on the chart to zoom in on a particular area. You can then use the slider which appears at the top of the graph to scroll through the times.

And you can use the check boxes at the bottom to show and hide drivers’ lap times.

The chart below showing the drivers’ speeds at the speed trap works in the same way.

As well as doing the fastest time of the session Felipe Massa also did the longest unbroken stint, staying out for 15 laps towards the end of the session.

His timed dipped from the 1’45 mark down to a quickest of 1’43.624 in that stint. Interestingly, not long before that he did another stint where his times gradually got slower, rising from the mid-1’45s to the mid-1’47s, suggesting he switch to a new set of tyres between the two runs.

Few other drivers did stints of more than ten laps. One was Kamui Kobayashi, with somewhat more erratic lap times, but generally getting quicker. Timo Glock did a pair of 13-lap stints and it looks like the tyres went off in the second one.

The teams were given four sets of tyres for the test and will get another four sets for tomorrow’s running.

CarDriverCarBest lapGapLapAt timeLaps
17Felipe MassaFerrari1’40.1707943894
25Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault1’40.5000.3306744278
351Gary PaffettMcLaren-Mercedes1’40.8740.7047341394
423Kamui KobayashiSauber-Ferrari1’40.9500.7805641383
511Robert KubicaRenault1’41.0320.8622315939
69Rubens BarrichelloWilliams-Cosworth1’41.4251.2556334591
737Paul di RestaForce India-Mercedes1’41.6151.445154921
84Nico RosbergMercedes1’41.7781.6086136881
917Jaime AlguersuariToro Rosso-Ferrari1’42.0191.8494339171
1014Adrian SutilForce India-Mercedes1’42.8592.689109720
1124Timo GlockVirgin-Cosworth1’44.1243.9546944878
1219Heikki KovalainenLotus-Cosworth1’44.6864.5168646988
1340Pastor MaldonadoHRT-Cosworth1’45.7285.5585531883

Best sector times

Kobayashi’s combined pace in the Sauber was on a par with Massa’s, the Japanese driver going fastest in the middle sector.

CarDriverCarBest S1Best S2Best S3Ultimate lapGap to best
17Felipe MassaFerrari17.66942.57839.8291’40.0760.094
25Sebastian VettelRed Bull17.71542.73239.8831’40.3300.170
323Kamui KobayashiSauber17.85642.43240.1131’40.4010.549
451Gary PaffettMcLaren17.70942.68740.3131’40.7090.165
511Robert KubicaRenault17.82742.77540.3811’40.9830.049
69Rubens BarrichelloWilliams17.91642.64840.4901’41.0540.371
74Nico RosbergMercedes18.05442.76140.6941’41.5090.269
837Paul di RestaForce India17.84643.03240.6391’41.5170.098
917Jaime AlguersuariToro Rosso17.96542.98740.7881’41.7400.279
1014Adrian SutilForce India17.99943.36041.3731’42.7320.127
1124Timo GlockVirgin18.35343.94541.7461’44.0440.080
1219Heikki KovalainenLotus18.44543.99542.0991’44.5390.147
1340Pastor MaldonadoHRT18.62343.93842.7381’45.2990.429

Speed trap

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Once again Williams did some constant speed work for aerodynamic evaluation – note Barrichello hitting 200kph consistently in the speed trap in his early runs.

Other than that the maximum speeds were not dissimilar to what was seen earlier in the test.

CarDriverCarSpeed trap (kph)Gap
117Jaime AlguersuariToro Rosso-Ferrari317.52
251Gary PaffettMcLaren-Mercedes316.59-0.93
337Paul di RestaForce India-Mercedes316.59-0.93
47Felipe MassaFerrari315.66-1.86
511Robert KubicaRenault312.91-4.61
623Kamui KobayashiSauber-Ferrari312.91-4.61
75Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault312-5.52
89Rubens BarrichelloWilliams-Cosworth311.1-6.42
914Adrian SutilForce India-Mercedes311.1-6.42
1040Pastor MaldonadoHRT-Cosworth310.2-7.32
114Nico RosbergMercedes309.31-8.21
1224Timo GlockVirgin-Cosworth305.8-11.72
1319Heikki KovalainenLotus-Cosworth304.93-12.59

2011 F1 testing

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    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    14 comments on “Pirelli tyre test day 1: Full lap times data”

    1. Good to see Kobayashi so quick on the Pirelli’s

    2. Except for Nico Rosberg, whose times seem to be slower by 0.5 seconds every passing lap, all the other drivers laps seem to be the standard pattern.

      Pirelli needs to be told that their job is to make the team’s job harder. not easier.

      1. i agree but they dont want teams complaining about the tyre. tho better for us not better for their promotion.

        Rosberg is already moaning about them

        1. And Schumacher has the same driving style at Massa. Looks like his wishes about Pirellis favoring him are going to come true…

    3. Have they said anything about compounds? I think I remember hearing that they are going to continue the Bridgestone model of four dry compounds, one intermediate, and one extreme wet tire.

      Do we know how hard or soft these tires are in comparison to others they are planning? And can we please get a better indication of a tire being the option or the prime than that almost invisible green stripe?

    4. A driver will always want the tyres to be as grippy as possible and last as long as possible whilst remaining grippy. I hope that the Pirelli engineers don’t listen to what the drivers are saying too much and think more than a little bit about what’s good for the racing.

      1. Pirelli need to avoid getting stuck in the rut that Bridgestone are still stuck in from when they were going head-to-head against Michelin.

    5. Keith, I’m sure Rubens will be happy with you grouping him under the banner of ‘Young Drivers’ in both charts, but I don’t think it is accurate today!

    6. Maybe it’s me, but can’t stand Pirelli’s typo. Hope they’ll fix ’till next season.

    7. Good stuff. Where did you get the data from?

    8. Looks like they’re loosing most time in the last most twisty section compared to their qualifying laps.. the other sectors is almost similar.. So I guess grip levels are not so good yet..

      1. btw, It’s worth noting though that they run the cars ballasted to 2011 weight regulations. That should add some time to the lap…

    9. Hi Keith, can you provide an actual list of all times at all, or would you be able to say where you got them from please?

    10. Wow well done di resta for being faster than Sutil

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