HOW TO TELL THE FIVE COMPUNDS APART IN TESTING
Roberto Boccafogli /Pirelli F1 | 21.2.19 | Pneu Pirelli F1
Pirelli F1 2019
HOW TO TELL THE FIVE COMPUNDS APART IN TESTING.
MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING
“It’s still early days, but so far the tyres seem to be performing largely as we expected, with a performance gap of around 0.6 to 0.7 seconds between each compound. In more detail, it’s something around 0.6 seconds between C2 and C3 so far, and roughly the same gap between C3 and C4, which were the most used tyres in this session. Due to the cool conditions this week, there was a bit of graining as expected, which should disappear when temperatures become warmer during the actual season. As far as testing goes, there are many variables that need to be taken into account when it comes to making comparisons with previous years here. There are new 2019 regulations with different aerodynamics and heavier cars, and we’ve also noted that the track surface in Barcelona has matured since last year, becoming more abrasive and offering more mechanical grip. Having said that, we’ve seen a very impressive level of reliability and performance from the cars so far, helped by generally favourable weather. As usual, the emphasis during the first test tends to be on reliability and validation: next week we should see the teams focus more on performance and explore the full capabilities of the 2019 P Zero Formula 1 range.”