Pedro de la Rosa joins Pirelli for 2011
Pirelli tyres have added to their 2011 development programme with the signing of Spanish driver Pedro de la Rosa. De la Rosa, who was replaced at Sauber by the previous Pirelli test driver Nick Heidfeld,
will join Romain Grosjean as the Italian company enters its last phase of testing for the 2011 model tyres.
At a press conference at the Turkish Pirelli factory, Pirelli Tyre CEO Francesco Gori stated, “So far our work has been carried out by Nick Heidfeld, but as he is going back to racing, he will be replaced
by Pedro de la Rosa and Romain Grosjean. They will test until the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, afterwards all of the teams will test for the first time with Pirelli tyres.”
Pirelli was recently confirmed to be the sole tyre supplier to F1 during the 2011-2013 seasons, and has been engaged in a rigorous development programme of testing various compounds in the quest for the
perfect F1 models. The company has already made considerable progress, bringing the tyre close to the desired speed.
“Our first step was the aerodynamic profile of the tyre," Gori explained. “The design and shape is very critical, and we have to provide the teams with this, because they have very few months to get this
fixed for next year. This is something we have achieved, and job number two is the structure of the tyre. This is to make sure that it can support to stress and speed of a Formula 1 car, and we are in the final stage of development there. The next challenge
is the compounds. Different solutions are currently being tested, on tracks from Monza – the fastest – to Jerez – the most abrasive.”
“So far, our results have been encouraging,” he reflected. “We have completed more than 4000 kilometres already, and we have good results. When you consider that the car [Toyota] we are using is from 2009,
so it is not quite as advanced as the cars racing this year, we are about one second per lap slower than the current [Bridgestone] tyres.
He added, “After just three months of testing, this is enough. Especially since Bridgestone has been in Formula 1 for 13 years.”
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