Max P8 in Abu Dhabi, Pirelli satisfied

Published on 02 December 2015 by Mike Motilall

Max Verstappen clocked the eight fastest time during the Pirelli test day on the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi. After 54 laps, the young Toro Rosso-driver had a 1:45.849 on the board. Stoffel Vandoorne was the quickest with a 1:44.103. The Belgian GP2-champion concluded a disastrous season for McLaren Honda on a high. Kimi Raikkonen finished in P2 in his Ferrari, in front of the Sauber of Macus Ericsson.

It is impossible to draw any conclusions just by looking at the times driven. Only Pirelli knew who and at what moment, was driving with which tyre.

The aim for this test for Pirelli was to try out several different potential variations of the new ultra-soft compound tyre, they are planning to introduce in 2016. Teams were banned from trying new parts this test day.

“We had one shot when it came to testing tyres for next season and we can be satisfied by what we’ve achieved today”, says Paul Hembrey from Pirelli. “We’ve tested different versions of the ultra-soft compound for 2016. This was one of the targets for this session.”

“Our target with the ultra-soft tyre for 2016 is to introduce a compound softer than the super-soft and mainly designed as aggressive choice for street circuits, with better performance than the latest version of the super-soft tyre and a faster degradation. All in order to allow teams to take a more aggressive approach to race strategy.”

“Whether this will produce more pit stops or difference in strategies, is too early to say for now. But it seems we are heading in the right direction. We hope with the ultra-soft tyre to offer more possibilities during certain races.”

Pirelli F1 test day times

1.   Stoffel Vandoorne   McLaren       1m44.103s     99
2.   Kimi Raikkonen      Ferrari       1m44.456s     56
3.   Marcus Ericsson     Sauber        1m44.480s     50
4.   Jolyon Palmer       Lotus         1m44.568s     90
5.   Sebastian Vettel    Ferrari       1m44.940s     56
6.   Pascal Wehrlein     Mercedes      1m45.605s    107 
7.   Daniel Ricciardo    Red Bull      1m45.805s     57
8.   Max Verstappen      Toro Rosso    1m45.849s     54
9.   Nico Hulkenberg     Force India   1m45.852s     71
10.  Valtteri Bottas     Williams      1m45.940s    103
11.  Daniil Kvyat        Red Bull      1m46.309s     48
12.  Carlos Sainz Jr     Toro Rosso    1m46.995s     56
13.  Adderly Fong        Sauber        1m48.439s     57
14.  Alfonso Celis Jr    Force India   1m48.545s     65
15.  Rio Haryanto        Manor         1m49.593s     56
16.  Jordan King         Manor         1m49.661s     59