Pirelli surprised by Barcelona pace

04/03/2019
NEWS STORY

Like many, Pirelli admits to being surprised by the pace of the cars during pre-season testing.

The new aero regulations, not to mention the increased weight of the cars, had led to predictions of cars being around 1.5s off last year's pace.

However, from the outset it was clear that this was not the case, and by the end of testing Sebastian Vettel's best time was almost a second quicker than 2018.

"We've had eight productive days, with teams accumulating plenty of running in generally good conditions," said Pirelli's Mario Isola as he reflected on the test, "although - as expected at this time of year - without reaching the temperatures we anticipate during the season.

"Considering this, we are satisfied that all five compounds are performing as we planned, even though the softest compound is not really suited to Barcelona.

"As usual, during the second week of testing, teams were sampling a wider range of compounds and targeting performance and race procedures in preparation for Australia.

"What's perhaps more surprising is the pace of the cars at this point in the season," he admits, "not only are they going faster than last year's test, despite being 10 kilograms heavier.

"We experienced a bit of graining in cooler temperatures, which should disappear in warmer weather, and no blistering. It's hard to get a precise read on degradation in these conditions.

"At the moment we're seeing a gap of around 0.6 to 0.7 seconds between each of the compounds seen on track in Barcelona, which should translate to our target of about 0.9 seconds on a longer circuit in warmer weather."

Driver by Driver on Different Tyre Compounds

Driver Team Tyre Time Gap
Albon Toro Rosso C5 1:16.882 135.444 mph
Albon Toro Rosso C4 1:18.649 1.767
Bottas Mercedes C5 1:16.561 136.012 mph
Bottas Mercedes C3 1:18.862 2.301
Bottas Mercedes C2 1:20.127 3.566
Gasly Red Bull C5 1:17.091 135.077 mph
Gasly Red Bull C3 1:17.715 0.624
Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo C5 1:17.639 134.124 mph
Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo C3 1:18.511 0.872
Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo C4 1:18.589 0.950
Grosjean Haas C5 1:17.076 135.103 mph
Grosjean Haas C4 1:17.854 0.778
Grosjean Haas C3 1:18.563 1.487
Hamilton Mercedes C5 1:16.224 136.613 mph
Hamilton Mercedes C4 1:17.977 1.753
Hamilton Mercedes C2 1:18.097 1.873
Hamilton Mercedes C3 1:18.943 2.719
Hamilton Mercedes Proto 1:20.818 4.594
Hulkenberg Renault C5 1:16.843 135.513 mph
Hulkenberg Renault C4 1:18.800 1.957
Hulkenberg Renault C3 1:19.056 2.213
Hulkenberg Renault C2 1:20.980 4.137
Kubica Williams C5 1:18.993 131.825 mph
Kubica Williams C2 1:21.542 2.549
Kvyat Toro Rosso C5 1:16.898 135.416 mph
Kvyat Toro Rosso C4 1:18.682 1.784
Leclerc Ferrari C5 1:16.231 136.601 mph
Leclerc Ferrari C3 1:18.046 1.815
Magnussen Haas C5 1:17.565 134.251 mph
Magnussen Haas C3 1:18.199 0.634
Magnussen Haas C4 1:18.769 1.204
Norris McLaren C5 1:17.084 135.089 mph
Norris McLaren C4 1:17.709 0.625
Perez Racing Point C5 1:17.791 133.861 mph
Perez Racing Point C3 1:19.944 2.153
Raikkonen Alfa Romeo C5 1:17.239 134.818 mph
Raikkonen Alfa Romeo C4 1:18.209 0.970
Raikkonen Alfa Romeo C3 1:19.462 2.223
Ricciardo Renault C5 1:17.114 135.037 mph
Ricciardo Renault C4 1:18.164 1.050
Ricciardo Renault C3 1:19.886 2.772
Ricciardo Renault C2 1:20.983 3.869
Ricciardo Renault C1 1:22.597 5.483
Russell Williams C5 1:18.130 133.281 mph
Russell Williams C3 1:20.997 2.867
Sainz McLaren C5 1:16.913 135.390 mph
Sainz McLaren C4 1:17.144 0.231
Sainz McLaren C3 1:19.354 2.441
Stroll Racing Point C5 1:17.556 134.267 mph
Stroll Racing Point C2 1:19.664 2.108
Stroll Racing Point C3 1:20.433 2.877
Verstappen Red Bull C3 1:17.709 134.003 mph
Vettel Ferrari C5 1:16.221 136.619 mph
Vettel Ferrari C3 1:17.925 1.704

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Published: 04/03/2019
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