Räikkönen's qualification was already in that direction

Kimi Räikkönen had two new sets of Pirelli's soft tyres in the qualification. The advantage didn't however offer a full advantage to him.


– The first set was bad. Although it was a new tyre it pushed forward. At least the second set worked properly. The qualification was in that direction, but by improving with a tenth we would had been in the front row. Sebastian Vettel was ahead of the others but the rest of the gang was even, Räikkönen summed up.


– This was one of our best qualifications so far. We were 5th in Malaysia, but there we got higher due to a penalty. Now it feels good to be 5th in the grid.


The 5th grid is on the clean side of the track, which is a clear advantage in the starting grid.


Overtaking isn't easy in Valencia. The start is very important.


– When it's hot, someone ahead of us can get in trouble with the tyres and then we have a chance to overtake. Our car has been good in the tyre-department and hopefully it continues in the race also.


– We have to take the same soft tyres from the qualification to the start. On Friday they worked reasonably during long stints, Räikkönen reminded.


We can expect two-stop strategies, since the tyre consumption is tough in hot weather.


Räikkönen has been struggling with the Lotus-car's steering during the spring. Now the situation is better.


– Small things have made it a little better and more precise. Due to that it was easier in qualification. It has always been good enough in races.


Permane trusting


Alan Permane was smiling to the tasty scenery of getting both drivers on the podium.


– We have gone up much higher from behind 4th and 5th grid. We have a strong belief in the race. Overtaking is tricky even in the DRS-area and we are certainly not expecting any easy race for us.


– The hot weather will put a strain on the tyres, but we trust that we can cope under these circumstances. In strategy we have open one, two or three -stop strategies. Lets see what happens, Permane said.


Grosjean will strike from the 2nd row


Romain Grosjean beat his team mate for the 6th time in qualification. The difference was however only 0,008 seconds.


– I have been 8 times in qualification and this is my 2nd best result after Australia. We really have a great opportunity to succeed in this race. The strategy will be in the key role.


Grosjean knows that one can't crash in the start.


– I've started to know all the drivers around me and how they behave. It's going to be tough in the three first corners and if getting through the first corner without crashing, there's a good chance to do a top result, Grosjean planned.


Turun Sanomat


HEIKKI KULTA


Courtesy: Nevercrywolf

Räikkönen was wondering: Car broke down on walking pace

Kimi Räikkönen's car suffered a rare damage in Jerez on Wednesday at the beginning of the test.

- The floor of the car broke down in the morning. I went to the sand and drove back to the track at walking pace. The edge of the track was so high that the floor hit it. It took a little time to repair, Raikkonen told MTV3.

Regarless of the floor damage Raikkonen was drive staggering 117 rounds on Wednesday. He was fifth fastest in the day's results.

- The car does not have any special problems, of course there are some small jobs, but they more or less standard things, which may occur anytime. Even the floor problem was not a tecnical defect but my own fault. In first tests the most important thing is to get a lots of laps, Raikkonen said.

Räikkönen has one improvement in mind for the E20 car.

- Steering needs to be improved. I think we get it fixed before the season starts.

Getting used to Pirelli tyres has gone well to Finnish driver.

- I do not think the tyres will cause any problems. Today some of the compounds were better than others. It certainly depends on weather. Soft tyres did not work on so cold. Even Pirelli said that the hard tyres were the best of all. There is not any problems with the tyres when they work properly, Kimi stated.

MTV3, Jani Merimaa, Jerez

Courtesy: reppo

Hembery believes that a short learning period is enough for Räikkönen

As a new user of Pirelli F1-tyres is Kimi Räikkönen who returns to the tracks. This way the Italian brand has as the first one in F1-history six world champions at the same time.

Pirelli got praisal for last season's colorful races in F1. Now the expectations are even higher.

Turun Sanomat was offered an opportunity to interview Pirelli Motorsport's manager Paul Hembery.

Six WDCs in the serie, is F1 now having their highest level of all times?

– I think so - considering that there is also a bunch of talented drivers who haven't won the championship. The level is very tough, maybe the toughest one we have ever seen. If the cars' level is also as tough and their performance ability touches the sky, then we can expect a number of amazingly great races, Hembery thinks.

Räikkönen had time to drive during WRC-season 2010 with Pirelli's tyres. How well does Hembery know Kimi?

– We didn't especially get to know each other although our team did. I met Kimi twice. He is a silent guy and normally we strive to keep a distance to all drivers. We aren't looking for someone to chat with. The drivers come to us when they need something.

– However it's a good thing for Kimi that he has experience of working with us. Based upon that he understands that we strive to deliver a reliable top service to everybody.

Räikkönen drove with Pirelli tyres for the first time in Valencia. How did they follow the test from Pirelli?

– Not at all because it was Lotus-team's own thing, Hembery said.

Sensitivity of the car will help Kimi

Will the changes made to the tyres for this year help Räikkönen reach the advantage other drivers have after working for years with Pirelli?

– I have seen Kimi's comments both before and after the test in Valencia about how he has to learn the tyres. That is a big difference compared to others when looking at it from his side. However Kimi is one of the most exceptional drivers of all times that we have seen in this sport, so I belive he will learn everything quickly.

– Kimi is so sensitive in the car that he quickly understands how the tyre works, how it's worn out and how he has to tend them. Of course the team also guides him now that Kimi has to focus on different aspects to which he got used to while driving earlier in F1, Hembery summed up.

Turun Sanomat

HEIKKI KULTA

Courtesy: Nicole

Pirelli announce tyre choices

Teams will be able to make use of the hard and soft compound Pirelli tyres at the upcoming British GP at Silverstone

Despite criticism from Ferrari after the Spanish Grand Prix where the hard compound tyres were used for the first time, the Italian manufacturer confirmed they will be sticking with the hard compound tyres in Britain.

Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery insists that hard compounds remain the best choice for the Silverstone track.

"There has been a lot of comment in the last few weeks about the choice for Silverstone," explained Hembery.

"Silverstone is one of the hard circuits in the season, it has a very aggressive surface, it has an unknown factor because the surface has been changed due to the new building work, and in terms of the tyre maker's point of view it is probably one of the hardest circuits that we face during the year - together with Istanbul, Malaysia and going forward something like Spa and Monza for the high speeds and then Suzuka.

"Also, being in England, it's very variable in terms of weather. This week they were having 30C, today I believe it's down to about 15C. So again, from a tyre maker's point of view, making a tyre work in that wide variety of conditions is a big challenge, hence the reason that we felt also offering the soft compound would allow us to operate in cooler conditions."

While Ferrari were unhappy with the hard compound tyres in Barcelona, McLaren and Red Bull adapted to them without any trouble. Despite the disparity, Hembery categorically denied suggestions that company would create tyres to favour one team over another.

"The teams have a difference of opinion," he said.

"We have asked their advice but clearly we don't want to favour or penalise one over the other. We have to take a look at the whole field.

"We have 12 teams we look at and feel that we are going to make the right choice for them, and also the right choice for us of course. Our main concern is to make sure that we don't penalise any team. Some people have decided that from Barcelona the hard tyre favours those with high downforce, so we have to be careful that the strategy based on hard tyres is not going to penalise any particular team.

"Equally we don't want to be in the situation where we have five pitstops, so it is a balance we have to find."

Hembery confirmed that medium and soft compounds will be used at the German Grand Prix while softs and super-softs would come into play at the Hungarian GP.

Source: Planet-F1

Media slams Vettel’s ’snooze control’ in Valencia

The media slammed the sagging spectacle of Sunday’s European grand prix.

After seven exciting races boosted by the new overtaking ’DRS’ system and heavily degrading Pirelli tyres, the formula did not conspire to spice up the usually-processional action on the streets of Valencia.

Making the situation worse was Sebastian Vettel’s further extension of his runaway championship lead, and then his exuberant celebration on the radio.

His upbeat message "Fantastic boys, I can’t tell you how good this feels" was met with "deafening silence in the multinational media centre", according to the Telegraph’s Tom Cary.

The Sunday Express’ Bob McKenzie agreed that the 23-year-old German shifted F1 into "snooze control" in the Spanish sun with the Valencia "yawnfest".

Agreed the Independent’s David Tremayne: "If all the races were run on tracks as infernally dull and uninvolving as the one here, the FIA might as well hand another world champion’s trophy to Sebastian Vettel right now.”

"For heaven’s sake, even kids with their Scalextric come up with better layouts," he added in a barb apparently pointed at F1 circuit designer Hermann Tilke.

Added the Daily Star’s James Murray: "Sebastian Vettel won one of the most boring races ever and there are fears the rest of the season will be the same."

And the Sun’s Michael Spearman said: "The street race around the Valencia Marina complex was about as thrilling as a four-hour Wagnerian epic."

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport pointed out that there was not a single "retirement, safety car or crash" and the DRS proved "inefficient despite the two overtaking zones".

Bild am Sonntag newspaper said: "The best things about the Valencia race were the sea, the blue sky, the bobbing yachts and the bikini girls."

"It was the first horribly boring race of the season," agreed Austria’s Kleine Zeitung.

"Most viewers felt overwhelmed with boredom by the procession," added the Swiss daily Le Temps.

The Times’ Kevin Eason observed on Twitter that Vettel said the race was "maybe boring" for the spectators. "Too right chum," the journalist quipped.

But the Telegraph’s Cary said it is wrong to blame the smiling Red Bull driver.

"The index-finger waggling celebration is becoming irksome but only because he is jabbing it in our faces every fortnight," he said.

Meanwhile, European grand prix promoter Jorge Martinez Aspar insisted the event had been "excellent" and attended by a healthy 85,000.

But he told EFE news agency that there is "no rush" to sign a five-year option for more Valencia races post 2014.

"We are happy with the situation and want to make the project viable. Ecclestone is willing to help," said Aspar, "but we need to further involve the city."

Source: Nextgen

Hamilton: Tyre wear not that dramatic

Lewis Hamilton says tyre wear around the Istanbul Park is not as bad as many drivers initially feared it would be

Prior to the Turkish GP, Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembrey stated that it could be the worst race for the Italian manufacturer as they were expecting high wear.

However, Friday's cooler temperatures, which saw rain in opening practice and a maximum of just 22 degrees in the afternoon session, meant the wear was not nearly as bad as predicted.

And with temperatures expected to remain low with more rain forecast for Saturday and Sunday, Hamilton is predicting just three, or even as few as two, stops in Sunday's grand prix.

"Quite surprised that they felt very similar to the last race," the McLaren driver told Autosport.

"I thought they'd be a lot worse here, but the long run was probably one of the best practice long runs I've ever had, so it was really good.

"I expect something similar to Shanghai, definitely. Two or three stops, no more than that."

Source: Planet-F1

Lewis Hamilton says new tyres will slow F1 teams down

Formula One is on a go-slow, according to Lewis Hamilton, one of five world champions on the grid when the new season gets under way in Melbourne three weeks time.

The new season will herald a number of technical changes, including the introduction of an adjustable rear wing and the return of the kinetic energy recovery system (KERS), which will make life busier than ever for the drivers.

But it is another change, the arrival of Pirelli as the sole tyre provider, which has made the biggest difference. According to Hamilton it has made the cars slower. As McLaren prepare for their final testing session in Barcelona, Hamilton said: "There is more to think about in the car. But Formula One does seem to have slowed down

"The cars are slower on a race distance. Last year we had to make tyres last with heavier fuel load and now it's even slower. I did run the other day and it was painfully slow, it really was. Just not exciting, to be honest.

"The first run – I didn't think I was pushing very hard – and the tyres were finished after nine laps, down to the canvas. On the next run, I had to go easier. It was almost like doing an out lap and just about made it to 15 or 16 on a soft tyre."

McLaren already have their hands full as they try to close the gap between themselves and the pace-setting Red Bull and Ferrari cars, but all the teams will have to come to terms with the new, fast-wearing tyres, which is likely to result in more pit-stops and more changes in the running order.

"Over the years you have to change your style and adapt, while keeping the important part, which is the speed and aggression," Hamilton said. "Now the biggest step is how we are going to have to look after the tyres.

"You'll see it's going to be just as competitive this year, if not more. The regs are bringing the teams closer, making it more competitive, but not as hard-core competitive. In 2007 and 2008, the teams were so quick and pushing each other so fast at the front. They've now slowed down the cars a little, it's maybe a more even playing field."

Hamilton's team-mate, Jenson Button, has seen a very fast Ferrari in the early testing sessions. Fernando Alonso has been very quick in testing – both drivers have at Ferrari. "And they have been reliable," Button said. "They were doing 140 laps a day and a couple of days we did 55. Big difference.

"They are in a great position. I don't really know how quick they are. I know he [Fernando] did his quick lap on a supersoft tyre in Barcelona. We didn't have one. You can look at their long runs and say they are consistent and so they must have downforce. They look strong.

"Red Bulls are the same as last winter. They didn't look amazingly strong and got to first race and were massively quick. Then you have a gaggle of cars. The Toro Rossos look very competitive, they have done a great job, the Renault is a step behind that, even Force India … There are a lot of quick cars out there."

Source: The Guardian

Alonso: “Important data for understanding the tyres”

Once again a lot of kilometres for the F150th Italia. Today, chassis 287 made its track debut, having previously been used for the crash tests and for bench testing and it too showed a good level of reliability, covering around 470 kilometres without any problems. Once again today, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro’s main aim, along with that of Fernando Alonso who was driving, was to gather data on the behaviour of the Pirelli tyres, getting their first taste of the very demanding Catalunya circuit.

“Overall, it was a positive day,” said Fernando speaking to www.ferrari.com. “We did a lot of laps and brought home much valuable information. It seems that, on this track too, there is a certain level of tyre degradation, but it is only the first day and we have to see how the track evolves between now and Monday.”

Fernando will be at the wheel of car number 5 again tomorrow, before Felipe takes over for Sunday and Monday.

Source: Ferrari.com

Domenicali: “Let’s keep our feet on the ground”

There’s an air of great concentration in the corridors of Maranello, after the first three days of testing with the F150. The team pretty much got through the programme established prior to the test, which centred mainly on getting to grips with the behaviour of the new car and on understanding the new Pirelli tyres. On the reliability front, the first assessment can be seen as positive: the mishap that forced Felipe Massa to spend a long time in the garage yesterday is in no way the sign of some congenital defect in the car.

“As we already said at the launch, the important thing is to do many kilometres at the first test and in that we have succeeded, “ said Stefano Domenicali on www.ferrari.com. “The stopwatch revealed little and that will also be the case in the next test sessions. We are pleased with our debut, but we are perfectly aware that there is still a lot of work to do, both on track and in the factory. Over the next few weeks, we must keep our feet solidly on the ground and concentrate on our own job, without being distracted by what the others are up to. The first conclusions will only be drawn in Bahrain when things start getting serious.”

Fernando Alonso was also in Maranello today, spending a long time in the simulator. The team got back from Valencia late morning and by Monday the mechanics will already be on their way again, this time to Jerez de la Frontera where testing resumes on Thursday 10 February: this time Felipe will be the first on track for two days, with Fernando rounding off the last two days of Saturday and Sunday.

Source: Ferrari.com

Pirelli targets 2012 WRC return

Italian tyre firm Pirelli is targeting a return to the World Rally Championship in 2012.

Pirelli has a contract to compete for at least three years in Formula One, as well as in GP2 and GP3.

But the company’s motorsport director Paul Hembery has spoken of his desire to return to take on Michelin in the 2012 WRC.

“I want us to be back in the WRC in 2012,” said Hembery. “Once those regulations are out, we will study them carefully and begin - if the conditions are right - to prepare ourselves. We have a programme of continued development to maintain our knowledge in rallying through the season.”

Pirelli will remain in the WRC this season, continuing to supply rubber to the WRC Academy – which will incorporate the Pirelli Star Driver scheme.

“We have supported the WRC since its inception in 1973 and we still have a huge passion for the sport of rallying,” added Hembery. “Yes, we are back in Formula 1, but we’re certainly not about to forget about the WRC.”

As well as supplying the WRC Academy, Pirelli recently secured a deal to equip the Citroen Racing Trophy – a one-make series present in 10 countries this year – with tyres for the next three years.

Source: MaxRally
Courtesy: luieluv

Massa in make or break season with Ferrari

The 2011 Formula 1 season is going to be the most critical year of Felipe Massa’s career, but the introduction of Pirelli tyres could stop his career from sliding backwards

This season is make or break for Massa because it may decide the direction the rest of his F1 career takes.

If he delivers a considerably improved performance he will stay at the front of the grid, and still have the possibility to be a world champion. On the other hand a repeat of 2010 would probably see Massa being relegated to a midfield team and his career potentially fading away.

After a poor couple of seasons with McLaren in 2008 and 2009, Heikki Kovalainen dropped a long way down the pecking order to the new Lotus team. This is the same risk Massa faces. From there it’s very hard to make it a comeback to a front running team.

For Massa it would be particularly hard considering he turns 30 in April. Therefore it may be too late in his career to work his way back to the front, particularly as younger drivers are favoured these days.

There have never been so many high calibre drivers in Formula 1, and there isn’t enough room at the front for them all.

Last year Massa finished just sixth in the championship, having only scored 57% of the points that team mate Fernando Alonso managed to rack up.

Whilst Ferrari was competing for the driver’s championship courtesy of Alonso, Massa’s lack of form cost Ferrari dearly in the constructor’s championship.

Had Massa scored the same amount of points that Alonso did, Ferrari would have won the constructors championship six points ahead of Red Bull.

To be able to win the constructors championship both drivers have to be scoring big points. Another problem from Ferrari’s point of view is that Massa rarely took points off Alonso’s key championship rivals.

For Massa to have a chance of remaining with Ferrari he has to score a bigger percentage of the points that Alonso scores at the very least. He will of course hope that he can do more than that and challenge for the title.

On his day Massa is as fast as anybody on the grid. He delivered some fantastic drives during his 2008 title battle with Lewis Hamilton.

In 2009 when Ferrari failed to adapt to the new rules Massa regularly out-drove the car, and was a driver who was coming of age. On the weekend of his horrific accident his practice pace was a match to race winner Hamilton. We will never know whether he could have won that race or not.

Since the accident the same Felipe Massa from 2008 and 2009 hasn’t shown up at the race track.

The key reason for Massa’s lack of form was he simply couldn’t adapt to the 2010 spec Bridgestone tyres.

Massa says: “I was never comfortable with the tyres, in particular the front ones. I didn’t manage to adapt my driving style to those tyres, which were very different to the ones from 2009.”

He had to constantly change to a setup which was less optimal to compensate for this. So effectively you could say that Massa was racing with one hand tied behind his back.

Massa is pinning his hopes on the fact that the Pirelli tyres are more suited to him. Switching to a different tyre manufacturer can dramatically alter a driver’s fortunes. For example Kimi Raikkonen was never the same driver on Bridgestones as he was on Michelins

At the moment it’s looking like there is a strong chance of Felipe’s wish coming true, as Pirelli have been working on making their front tyres stronger than the 2010 Bridgestones which is key to Massa’s driving style.

Massa had already felt postive about the tyres after his first test on them in Abu Dhabi: “The first [test] that we did with the Pirelli’s was positive. The way of driving the car was better, in terms of the tyre’s front grip, which was different in 2010. I think it was positive to my driving style.”

Another positive for Massa is that Pirelli are making their tyres softer and more aggressive than Bridgestone. Last season we saw how Massa’s struggle deepened on race weekends, when Bridgestone brought the hardest tyres in their range.

His main issue was getting heat into them. This really hurt him in qualifying, where getting heat into the tyres on the out-lap is critical to a good flying lap.

In the past Massa’s qualifying speed was always his strength, and this put him in a good position in races where he was often able to waltz away into the distance and win.

In 2010 it became his weakness, which cost him dearly as overtaking is so tough in F1 these days, and with the re-fuelling ban you can’t rely on strategy to make up places.

Softer tyres from Pirelli should mean that Massa shouldn’t have the same problem with warming up the tyres as he did with Bridgestone.

In 2011 qualifying could become his strength again, and change his fortunes. If he can start more races from the sharp end he will surely have a much stronger season.

It’s also worth remembering that in low fuel qualifying he can compete evenly with Alonso. This unlike the days when drivers took race fuel into the qualifying session, and the teams could favour their number one driver by giving them less fuel.

The other aspect of Pirelli tyres which could help Massa is how well Alonso adapts to them. Back in 2007 when Alonso switched from Michelin to Bridgestone tyres he initially struggled. It took him half a season to fully adapt to them.

Fernando has already admitted that he will have to alter his driving style slightly to adapt to Pirelli tyres.

If Alonso is not quite adapted to Pirelli in the early stages of the season, then Massa has to ensure he is quick out of the blocks and capitalises.

It is critical Massa starts the season well, and doesn’t let Alonso quickly build up a gap over him.

Overall Massa should be in much better form in 2011 mainly due to the new Pirelli tyres. There’s a good chance he will feature at the front more, and generally have a better season than 2010.

Stefano Domenicali is confident that the Brazilian will bounce back: “Felipe had a difficult season, but I am totally convinced that he will know how to react in just the right way, as he is capable of doing.”

He added: “In fact, he has often been under pressure and in these situations, he has delivered in a way that surprised many people.”

We know that when Massa is happy with the car that he is a very quick driver. Whether this is enough for him to challenge Alonso is an entirely different matter.

Massa says: “In the past I’ve always had very strong teammates, like Michael (Schumacher) and Kimi (Räikkönen), but I’d never found myself in a situation of not being comfortable with the car, as I had in 2010.”

It’s never easy to rise against a driver who you were forced to concede a race win to, as David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello will testify. In Coulthard’s case though he was much closer in pace to Mika Hakkinen later on in their partnership.

When both Ferrari drivers are on top form it would be fair to say that Alonso has something extra over Massa. His ultimate peak performance is extremely high as the second half of last season demonstrated

Despite that there would be no shame in losing out to Alonso narrowly, and would show the F1 paddock that Massa can still perform at a very high level.

This would probably be enough to keep him in a race winning car, which has to be his realistic aim for 2011.

Source: YallaF1

Vettel: Alonso has yet to congratulate me

Although Fernando Alonso did say congrats in his post-Abu Dhabi press release, Seb Vettel has revealed that the Spaniard has yet to say it personally

Vettel beat Alonso to the 2010 World Championship at the final hurdle in Abu Dhabi, winning the grand prix to take the title by four points ahead of the Spaniard.

Since then it's been a wirlwind week for the 23-year-old, who has been to Austria, England, back to Abu Dhabi for a two-day Pirelli test and then on to his hometown of Heppenheim in Germany.
And although he spent the two-day Pirelli test in the same vacinity as Alonso, Vettel says the Ferrari driver never came over to congratulate him.

"He still has not congratulated me," Vettel told AFP when asked if the Alonso had contacted him.
But, Alonso's lack of personal greeting side, Vettel says this past week has been one of the most amazing of his life as he settles down to life as a Formula One World Champ.

However, he still can't quite believe that it's real even after being greeted by 15,000 screaming fans during a homecoming celebration in Heppenheim, Germany.

"I have been hoping all the time that I don't wake up from this," he said. "It's all a bit unreal for me, it seems my face was on the front page of every German newspaper.

"I find it all a bit hard to take in, because at the end of the day, I am just a normal boy."

Source: Planet-F1

In pictures: Pirelli tyre testing at Yas Marina Final Day

Test F1 - Abu Dhabi / Pirelli - 20/11

Source: NextgenAuto

Alonso ends Pirelli test on top

Fernando Alonso was the man to beat as the second and final day of the Pirelli test reached its conclusion in Abu Dhabi on Saturday

The Spaniard ventured to the top of the timesheets during the morning session with a 1:40.529, which proved to unbeatable. Alonso also amassed the most laps, 105, which is the equivalant of two race distances at the Yas Marina circuit.

Michael Schumacher put in a late charge to take second place with just 15 minutes remaining in the session. The Mercedes GP driver finished 0.156s adrift of Alonso.

Schumacher's rise saw Sebastian Vettel drop to third place, as like Alonso he failed to better his time from the morning. Vettel, the new F1 World Champ, completed just 66 laps.

Red Bull's head of race engineering Ian Morgan said: "It's been interesting to work with different tyres here and it was good to have the opportunity to get information using a car we know well - the RB6 - before starting to work with the new car next year.

"Overall we have done everything we planned to and we're looking forward to working with Pirelli in the future.

"It's sad that this is the last day of running for the RB6 - it's a car that we have enjoyed a great deal of success with this year - but we're looking forward to 2011."

Rubens Barrichello finished in fourth place ahead of Robert Kubica, Gary Paffett and Oliver Turvey.

Paul di Resta, who was responsible for the first red flag when he broke down an hour before lunch, completed the top eight.

The only other stoppage on Saturday belonged to Pastor Maldonado, who was in action for Hispania Racing. He spun and stalled during the final hour of running.

Times
01. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:40.529 105 laps
02. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:40.685 74 laps
03. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:40.825 66 laps
04. Rubens Barrichello Williams 1:41.294 100 laps
05. Robert Kubica Renault 1:41.614 91 laps
06. Gary Paffett McLaren 1:41.622 46 laps
07. Oliver Turvey McLaren 1:41.740 30 laps
08. Paul di Resta Force India 1:41.869 35 laps
09. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:42.110 43 laps
10. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 1:42.145 97 laps
11. Tonio Liuzzi Force India 1:42.416 46 laps
12. Sergio Perez Sauber 1:42.777 46 laps
13. Jarno Trulli Lotus 1:44.521 83 laps
14. Pastor Maldonado Hispania 1:44.768 65 laps
15. Timo Glock Virgin 1:44.783 82 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Alonso tops the morning session

Fernando Alonso took over from Felipe Massa at the Yas Marina circuit on Saturday, topping the timesheets at lunch on Day Two of the Pirelli test

With the Formula One teams getting their first taste of the new Pirelli rubber in Abu Dhabi over a two-day period, Ferrari opted to run both Massa and Alonso, giving them each a day's working.

Massa was in action on Friday, setting the pace with a 1:40.170, before handing over to Alonso on Saturday morning. The Spaniard continued Ferrari's fun, clocking a 1:40.529 to beat Sebastian Vettel to the P1 slot by 0.296s.

However, Vettel's run was reportedly cut short when the new World Champ suffered another tyre failure, the cause of which is believed to be debris on the circuit. He completed just 13 laps.

Rubens Barrichello was next in line for Williams, finishing ahead of Paul di Restam, whose running was kept to just 13 laps as he broke down out on track an hour before the lunch break, bringing out the red flags.

McLaren test driver Oliver Turvey and Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi were fifth and sixth while Michael Schumacher replaced Nico Rosberg, finishing 1.632s off the pace.

Robert Kubica, who covered 47 laps on Saturday morning, completed the top eight.

Times
01. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m40.529s 47 laps
02. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1m40.825s 28 laps
03. Rubens Barrichello Williams 1m41.294s 52 laps
04. Paul di Resta Force India 1m41.869s 35 laps
05. Oliver Turvey McLaren 1m42.046s 29 laps
06. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1m42.110s 43 laps
07. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m42.161s 30 laps
08. Robert Kubica Renault 1m42.178s 47 laps
09. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 1m42.399s 46 laps
10. Jarno Trulli Lotus 1m44.839s 44 laps
11. Timo Glock Virgin 1m45.405s 37 laps
12. Pastor Maldonado Hispania 1m45.516s 27 laps

Source: Planet-F1

In pictures: Pirelli tyre testing at Yas Marina

Test F1 - Abu Dhabi / Pirelli - 19/11

Source: NextgenAuto