Pirelli confirm Lucas di Grassi as its test driver for 2012 Formula 1 season
Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery has confirmed that the former Virgin Racing Team driver Lucas di Grassi will be its test driver for the 2012 Formula 1 season’s tyre development.
Hembery added that feedback from the Pirelli test drivers is the biggest input that the tyre manufacturer company needs to develop and Grassi will help out with that.
Hembery said, “A significant part of our tyre development stems from the feedback we receive from our test driver, so this is an absolutely crucial appointment. Lucas has impressed us not only with his pace but also his technical feedback to the engineers.”
Di Grassi has been associated with Formula 1 from the 2008 season when he tested for the Honda Racing F1 team. He then joined the Renault team as a test driver for the 2009 Formula 1 season before getting a proper race seat at Virgin Racing Team in the 2010
season.
Di Grassi’s best finish so far is 14th which came in his third race in the Malaysian Grand Prix. Altogether, di Grassi struggled in the 2010 season with seven retirements and one unclassified result in the season. He finished 24th and
was left out by VRT at the end of the 2010 season.
Now he will get to drive Pirelli’s TF109 car for no more than five times in the 2011 season to collect some data.
Upon his inclusion to Pirelli, di Grassi stated, “Pirelli has done a fantastic job so far in a very short space of time and I’m looking forward to helping to make the P Zero tyres even better in the future: not just for the drivers and teams but for the
spectators as well.”
He further stated that he will use all of his experience to make Formula 1 a better sport.
Pirelli overtook from the Bridgestone tyres for the 2011 season. Although they faced criticism for a high rate of tyre degradation, they are now receiving praises from every corner after just eight races of the season. The high tyre degradation has resulted
in more pit stops, making the races more entertaining.
It will be interesting to see how much difference di Grassi makes to the Pirelli tyre development.
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