The first two day test session for Pirelli’s new F1 tyre for the 2011 season came to a close today.
Nick Heidfeld successfully ran the 2009 Toyota TF109 around the Mugello track in Italy to collect satisfactory information regarding their profile and construction.
Pirelli’s Motorsport Director, Paul Hembery, concluded that the Italian manufacturer hit their targets and came away with some valuable data.
“This was the first step of our return to Formula One and we are very satisfied with how the tyres performed and the information we were able to collect,” he said.
“We concentrated on finalising the profile and the construction of the front and rear tyres, which is a process that we will continue over the next few tests that we carry out.
“Mugello has quite an abrasive surface with long and medium-high-speed corners as well as hairpins and quick changes of direction so it is quite a good proving ground. We are on target and we come away from this test with lots of data to analyse, which is exactly the situation we hoped to be in.”
Hembery than went onto thank the Toyota team for their reliable car, whilst congratulating Heidfeld for his contribution, whom is likely to continue testing with the tyre supplier in the near future when they move onto the Paul Ricard circuit.
“A lot of people have made a big commitment to get to where we are today in a very short period of time and the effort really has been incredible,” he added.
“The Toyota team has also been very professional and providing a good, reliable car and we are all very happy to begin our relationship with Nick Heidfeld who gave us a lot of good feedback and suggestions.”
