Felipe Massa: New Pirelli tyres only suited McLaren, Red Bull Racing team at Spanish Grand Prix
Ferrari driver Felipe Massa claimed after a disappointing retirement at the Spanish Grand Prix that the new Pirelli tyres suited McLaren and Red Bull Racing team only as a result of which the rest of the teams were unable to compete against their pace.
“Once I fitted the hard tyres, it was almost impossible to drive the car,” he wrote in his official blog. “I ended up losing all the places I had gained, then I had a spin and eventually with a few laps to go, I had to park the car at the side of the track
as I could not select any gears.”
Ferrari struggled to perform even though Fernando Alonso led the race for around 20 laps after a breathtaking start but in the end, finished over a lap behind the victor Sebastian Vettel and second placeholder Lewis Hamilton.
McLaren and Red Bull Racing team were quite competitive during the race. However, Red Bull were over a second faster than the rest of the teams during the qualifying session which revealed that the RB7 is a class above the rest.
Since most of the drivers believe that the major difference in performance this year is due to the new Pirelli tyres, Massa believes that the new tyres suited Red Bull and McLaren only at the Circuit de Catalunya.
On top of that, Pirelli introduced new hard compound tyres and according to Massa, the rest of the teams were unable to find the right tyre temperature which was one of the major factors that dictated the performance during the Spanish GP.
However, he is confident about the team’s chances at the upcoming race which is scheduled to take place in Monaco this weekend.
“Starting with free practice this Thursday at Monaco, we begin a run of three Grands Prix using Pirelli's Soft and Super Soft and that should work better for us. They will definitely suit the characteristics of our car which is a positive factor,” said Massa.
Fernando Alonso recently stated that the team’s journey for the titles is not over yet as there are still at least 14 races left this season and that Ferrari can still catch up with Red Bull and McLaren.
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