Pedro de la Rosa to continue with Pirelli

2011 F1 season

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Pirelli wet tyre test, Abu Dhabi, 2011

Pirelli say Pedro de la Rosa will continue testing for them unless he finds a race seat for 2011.

A spokesperson told F1 Fanatic they were looking into the possibility of running further tyre tests during 2011, but had not decided what car to use.

Pirelli used a 2009-specification Toyota TF109 last year, but that chassis is potentially too out of date to gather relevant data. There is the possibility of using a 2010 car supplied by one of the teams instead, but only if all the teams agreed to it.

They have not yet decided how the different tyre compounds will be identified and have been testing different solutions to see how they appear on television. This included using a different colour for all four compounds.

Pirelli brought their definitive race specification medium, soft and super-soft tyres to Valencia.

They hope to encourage drivers to make more pit stops in 2011 by bringing an extreme difference in tyre specification where possible. This could include bringing the softest and hardest tyres to the same race, as Bridgestone did at Hockeneheim last year.

Image © Pirelli

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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17 comments on “Pedro de la Rosa to continue with Pirelli”

  1. The obvious choice is to use the unraced 2010 Toyota, depending on whether they can wrench it out of Stefan GP’s hands. If, indeed, it’s still in their hands.

    1. The early tyre tests were conducted with the TF110 chassis. I haven’t heard anything about Pirelli losing control over it.

      1. Interesting that they went back to using the 2009 model then. Didn’t realise that.

  2. I like Pedro, and it is a bit of a shame that he will not be racing somewhere this year, even as a reserve. A man with his experience could be valuable, but money is much more valuable these days. It is another reason why I think I like 3-car teams for the major outfits.

  3. Pirelli say Pedro de la Rosa will continue testing for them unless he finds a race seat for 2011.

    I think he’s already said he won’t be racing for Hispania. So I guess that only leaves a mid-season drive.

    1. Or a test drive.

      1. The article specifically says “race seat” though.

  4. Why can they not just differentiate between prime and option the same way Bridgestone did. It was effective and it would be good to have continuity for the fans. Casual fans won’t care which 2 of the 4 compounds are being used and the hardcore fans will know anyway.

    1. I agree, I think changing things for the sake of it is more than unnecessary, It’s almost silly.

  5. I like the idea of 4 different color-coded tires! It helps me out when I’m watching and I appreciate it. I think the more hardcore fans will ignore it anyway, but those of us who are newer will appreciate it.

  6. I think if HRT lend Pirelli their 2010 car I think that no team will have any significant problems with that.

    Also HRT will be able to make a bit of cash from it.

    1. I’m not quite sure why, but HRT was who immediately sprang to my mind as well. As long as Pirelli doesn’t share all the data back with HRT there shouldn’t be a problem.

  7. I don’t care for the colours, as long as they don’t pretend to be “green.”

  8. 4 distinct different colours would be great, they could differentiate by making the Pirelli logo a different colour in each one.

    They hope to encourage drivers to make more pit stops in 2011 by bringing an extreme difference in tyre specification where possible. This could include bringing the softest and hardest tyres to the same race, as Bridgestone did at Hockeneheim last year

    No no no no no. Just bring the two softest ones to every race, unless they are literally falling apart on track.

  9. Any of 2010 car,they should choose someone from the newbie team.I don’t know where will Pedro will end up if not HRT a test driver role won’t help him. Will that help any team? I wonder.

  10. i think the best way of making teams have more pit stops is to bring only the softest 2 compounds.

    And realistically I think the best way to make teams have more pitstops is to scrap the rules about having to use both compounds, Bring all 4 compounds to the race and let them use as many or as little of which ever compound they want.
    I’m sure if its fastest to use the super soft and make 3 stops they would, while the back runners would probably no stop on hards to try and gain and keep track position, which would also promote overtaking, and improve “the show”.

    My lord have I just solved all the problems in the racing side of F1 by theoretically removing one of the most stupid rules ever made?

    1. You forgot about two things. 1. Money, obviously taking an unlimited amount of all 4 slick compounds to every race would be a far, far greater expense than just a set amount of two compounds. 2. Track surfaces are not all the same. The softest tyre on a corse asphalt track would be useless, ripped up in half a lap. Likewise the hardest tire on a smooth track would make the cars laughably slow.

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