Pirelli to Test Formula One Tyres in Abu Dhabi

Pirelli has announced that 12 teams will test out its new Formula One tyres on Friday and Saturday. Tyre spotters amongst you will notice the slick tyres in medium and soft compounds are distinguished by a coloured stripe on the sidewall. Each team will have eight sets of tyres available to them for the two days of testing

The test in the United Arab Emirates marks Pirelli’s return to F1 after a 19-year absence. The Italian tyre company has brought 384 tyres and 30 people to Abu Dhabi for its debut. Pirelli’s Formula One team concluded the first phase of testing, following eight private tests and 7000 kilometres on challenging circuits all over Europe.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director, commented: “We come to these tests with plenty of confidence and satisfaction with our work carried out so far. The tests in Europe have given us all the data we needed at this current phase of development. Tomorrow, the second phase gets underway…”

Pirelli’s engineers, led by motorsport director Paul Hembery, have been to Mugello, Monza, Barcelona, Valencia, Jerez and Le Castellet to try out all the different types of tyre that will be supplied to the teams next year according to FIA regulations: four slick tyres (ranging from super-soft to hard) one intermediate tyre, and one rain tyre.

The 5.5 kilometres of the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi will play host to Pirelli’s debut as Formula One’s official tyre where the two days of testing will take place from 0900-1700 on 19 and 20 November. Sunshine, light wind and ambient temperatures around 34 degrees, which translate to a track temperature of about 48 degrees, will be the order of the day.

After Abu Dhabi, Pirelli will move on to Bahrain in early December for more private testing, in preparation for the first official tests with all the teams next year, which get underway in January.

The Pirelli F1 team, composed of a variety of international personnel, is based in Milan at the Pirelli Tyre Research and Development Centre. This facility is at the heart of the Pirelli Group’s tyre technology, which employs 1000 researchers based in five centres all over the world. Motorsport is the laboratory in which Pirelli has traditionally created some of the most important innovations in the tyre sector, so it is of crucial importance.

Throughout 2011, Pirelli will supply 50,000 tyres to the Formula One World Championship. The tyres for the world’s premier motorsport division will be produced at Pirelli’s Izmit factory in Turkey, one of the most modern of its kind, which is dedicated to competition tyres.

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