Pirelli Test: Massa on Top

Massa...top spot

By Tifosa
November 20 2010

Testing for the 2011 F1 season got underway today as Felipe Massa sat atop the timesheets after the first day of testing with the new Pirelli tires.

The Ferrari driver set his best time of 1m.40.170s during the afternoon, besting Sebastian Vettel’s time of 1m.40.50s. McLaren’s Gary Paffett rounded off the top 3.

Massa was understandably pleased with the day’s work. "It was a positive day to understand the way to go next year with a tire that is quite different to the one we had in 2010," he said.

"We were able to see that direction quite quickly and we understood quite easily what the tire required from the car and driver.But it's also clear there are quite a lot of things to change for next year. Next year's car will be quite different, of course, but today was positive and I'm pleased after working with Pirelli for the first time."

All did not go well for Pirelli however. WDC Vettel stopped before the day ended with tire failure. Later, Pirelli said that on-track debris may have contributed to the rear-tire failure.

Tomorrow, Fernando Alonso takes over for Ferrari on the last day of the test.

Complete times from today’s test:

1. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1.40.170 94laps

2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1.40.500 78laps

3. Gary Paffett McLaren 1.40.874 94laps

4. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1.40.950 83laps

5. Robert Kubica Renault 1.41.032 39laps

6. Rubens Barrichello Williams 1.41.425 91laps

7. Paul di Resta Force India 1.41.615 21laps

8. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1.41.778 81laps

9. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso 1.42.019 71laps

10. Adrian Sutil Force India 1.42.859 20laps