Michael Schumacher confident about the 2011 championship
The seven time world champion Michael Schumacher decided to return to Formula 1 after retiring from the sport in 2007. Michael returned to the sport with Ross Brawn, one of his best friends in his team that changed its name to Team Mercedes after winning
the title in its debut season in 2009.
However, Schumacher struggled to perform throughout the season as he claimed that the tyre compound in 2010 did not suite his driving style and that his car was built for Jenson Button’s likings. Out of all the drivers, Michael was the happiest driver after
it was decided that Pirelli would be the sole tyre providers for 2011.
After the end of the 2010 season, almost all of the F1 drivers reported a positive feedback after the tyre’s test session in Abu Dhabi however, they believe that there is still room for improvement.
The tyres will go through the development and testing process until March next year and it seems that drivers like Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa are now more confident about the 2011 Formula 1 championship.
Michael was satisfied with the balance between the front and the rear tyres after the test session and believes that he will do justice to his team this time.
“We were using the 2010 car and it will be all about how these tyres suit our 2011 car. These are not the final tyres but the ones I used today seemed to suit my style a bit more, especially the fronts,” he said.
On the other hand, Sebastian Buemi pointed out some of the key differences between Bridgestone and Pirelli as he believes that Pirelli can do even more better than what they have done up until now.
“You can also brake very hard and very late. On acceleration, the traction is poor and you lose a lot of grip, and the wear also seems higher. And on a long run the soft tyres wore much less than the hard tyres. However, Pirelli stated they will change it.
The front tyres are good. They respond well,” said Sebastian.
Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director stated that they are still tweaking the compounds and tyres after the feedback they have received from the drivers in order to ensure the best possible package.
“According to what we have learned in Abu Dhabi, we will change the compounds, but not the construction. The drivers especially enjoyed the performance of our front tyre, which is an area that we have worked on considerably,” he said.
However, it would be interesting to see Michael next year as he won’t have any excuses and will drive against his opponents fair and square.
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