Jerez Test Review Pirelli

(Pirelli Motorsport Media)

Pirelli brought a total of 284 set of tyres to the opening Formula One winter test ahead of the start of the 2015 Formula One season. Of the 284, 155 sets were used by the teams.

The Italian manufacturer brought five sets of the Red walled Super Soft tyre, (none of which were used). They brought 37 sets of the Soft tyre (21 of which were used). There were 120 sets of the Medium tyre (83 were used). 57 sets of the Hard tyre were available (29 were used). 40 sets of the Intermediate tyre (16 were used). 25 sets of the Full Wet tyre were made available to the teams, however only 6 sets were used.

The Lotus F1 Team’s Pastor Maldonado completed the most number of consecutive laps on the Soft tyre. The Venezuelan completed 19 laps on the third day of the test.

When it came to the Medium compound tyre, Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team’s Nico Rosberg completed 29 consecutive laps on the opening day of the test. The German also completed 34 laps using a set of Pirelli development winter Hard compound tyre. Mercedes driver also completed the most number of laps on the Hard tyre as he completed 42 laps.

When it came to the Intermediate tyre, once again it was Rosberg who completed the most number of laps as he did 25 laps on day three of the test.

The Sauber F1 Team’s Felipe Nasr completed six consecutive laps using the Full wet tyre. Scuderia Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen set the overall fastest time of the test on a set of Soft tyre with a 1m 20.841s topping the time sheets on the final day of the test.

Speaking about the opening test Pirelli Motorsport Director Paul Hembery stated:

'The four days at Jerez were quite a straightforward test, with all the teams present getting in a lot more running than they did at this time last year: which just goes to show the phenomenal rate at which this hybrid technology has developed. We experienced varied weather conditions on a very abrasive track at Jerez and encountered no issues, with generally positive comments from the drivers. From a tyre perspective, the two tests in Barcelona later this month will be more representative, as long as the weather remains favourable. 

The provision of our ‘winter hard’ prototype compound – a specially created testing compound, with a fast warm-up – was clearly appreciated, as the drivers used it extensively. It’s clear that the new cars have already evolved a lot since 2014, and we anticipate further improvements before we reach Melbourne in March.”

Over the course of the four day test the eight teams who took part completed 2294 laps of the Jerez circuit which was an increase of 824 laps on the same period last year when eleven teams were testing.

Pre-season testing continues in two weeks’ time at the Circuit Du Catalunya in Barcelona from February 19 – 22.

© Ben Johnston 2015