2017 Pirelli tire tests are over
Tuesday was the last day of testing for Pirelli's 2017 tires at the Abu Dhabi circuit. Now the manufacturer will have to analyze all the data collected so far.
The last and twenty-fourth day of tire testing for 2017 concluded this Tuesday in Abu Dhabi. For the first time, the three teams participating in the program, namely Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari, were present together on the Yas Marina track.
The drivers behind the wheel of the test cars, simulating the 2017 single-seaters’ downforce based on the 2015 cars, were Kimi Räikkönen for Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton – replaced by Pascal Wehrlein for Mercedes, as well as Daniel Riccardo and Max Verstappen at Red Bull.
The present drivers covered 2,000 kilometers over a total of 331 laps to gather valuable data for the design of the 2017 tires, which will have to support greater downforce and will have increased width. The Italian company tested no fewer than 96 different compounds from which the hard, medium, soft, super soft, ultra soft, intermediate, and wet tires will be selected.
24 days, 2607 laps and 12000 km later, we completed the 2017 tyre test program. https://t.co/pvcEgDioGL #Fit4F1 pic.twitter.com/hqi8gmFQMq
— Pirelli Motorsport (@Pirellisport) 29 novembre /f1/actualite/21607-hamilton-malade-abandonne-les-essais-Pirelli-a-abu-dhabi.html
Pirelli Motorsport director, Paul Hembery, stated: « For the final tests of the year, we had five F1 drivers who tested our 2017 prototype samples and completed the development program with three cars at the same time. Now, the hard work begins as we gather and analyze the results from our 24 days and approximately 12,000 kilometers of testing to define the tires we will race with next year. These will then be applied to the actual 2017 cars for the first time during the official tests next February. Our last test in Abu Dhabi went according to our plans, and we were able to collect the data we needed thanks to the three mule cars from Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari without which it would have been impossible to carry out this intense development program. »
