Felipe Massa says the new medium tyre being introduced by Pirelli this weekend is similar to the hard tyre used earlier this year.
Massa said: “If I had to sum up the new tyre, I would say it is very much like the original hard tyre we had from Pirelli earlier this season.
“After a few races, they changed it, making it harder still and this medium feels like the original hard.
“The Ferrari engineers have been working intensely on adapting the car to suit the tyres, as we have struggled more with the harder end of the compound range and we will test again a modified suspension to try and make it more suited to them.”
The original hard tyre was used in the first four races of the year.
Massa expects the Drag Reduction System will make overtaking easier at the Valencia street track, which has seen little passing in recent years:
“One of the criticisms of this street circuit was that it turned out to be very difficult to overtake other cars, but this year we have the [DRS] and, like in Canada, we have two DRS zones where we can operate it.
“For sure, this will change the characteristics of the race, making it much easier to overtake. However, you have to do everything you can to ensure your car is competitive throughout the whole race, because this is the direction we have seen things go this year, in that if you are not competitive then it is very easy to lose places to other cars.
“In the past, before DRS, even if your car was slower than the one behind, you could defend your position more easily, keeping the car behind and not getting passed.”
2011 European Grand Prix
Image © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo
Icthyes (@icthyes)
22nd June 2011, 19:13
Makes sense. It would be silly for Pirelli to have a hard which is actually now a super-hard and a medium which was still a medium. The difference would be too great.
BasCB (@bascb)
22nd June 2011, 19:15
I think we discussed this when they announced the new hard tyre, expecting the old hard to more or less take the place of the medium.
Massa does not sound all to convinced they did find a way to get the tyre working on the 150°
Cacarella
22nd June 2011, 20:57
This is his self defense mechanism kicking in.
If he is outclassed again, he can blame his inability to get the tyres working.
on a side note, when did I get so cynical?
Icthyes (@icthyes)
22nd June 2011, 23:04
Yo dawg, I heard you liked solving troubles with hard tyres, so we put Felipe Massa in a Ferrari F150°
(If you don’t know what I’m on about)
Eggry (@eggry)
22nd June 2011, 19:35
So if this is true(not Massa’s feeling or similarity but actually) they couldn’t develop proper medium tyre between hard and soft so they decided to make hard tyre harder and old hard tyre became medium? What a funny.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
22nd June 2011, 23:19
You might not be that far off the mark there.
OEL
22nd June 2011, 19:49
So they pracicly raced the medium tyres in the 4 first races?
sato113 (@sato113)
22nd June 2011, 20:02
let’s be honest, as much as I love Massa, he’s just not very fast anymore.
Becken
22nd June 2011, 20:19
I remember him putting some pressure in Fernando at Canada.
I think he is fast, but needs a perfect car to shine.
His worst problem for me is his over sensitivity to unstable cars and, most of all, his low ability to adapt.
Adaptability: this is what makes Fernando and Lewis special.
Fixy (@)
22nd June 2011, 20:31
More than that, which is true, he seems to have many races where he is not in form and few where he is.
robert
22nd June 2011, 23:07
In the 4 races he was able to finish this season he was ahead of Fernando 3 times so I wouldn’t say that.
Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
23rd June 2011, 7:19
Yes, and he was looking quite good in Canada, the spin was unfortunate and cost him a likely podium, but he still fought back through the field and nipped Kobayashi for 6th. He did a lot better than Alonso who thought he could just barge Button out of the way and in doing so beached his 150 italia like a whale.
Q85
23rd June 2011, 12:26
to barge someone out the way you are usually the overtaker……
Aldo
23rd June 2011, 14:03
This. Spot on.
hohum
22nd June 2011, 20:04
So no confusion here then, the medium is the hard and the other er tyre is the softer.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
22nd June 2011, 20:19
What we seem to have in essence is super-soft, soft, hard and super-hard!
Fixy (@)
22nd June 2011, 20:40
You’re right – they just changed the name of the last two compounds.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
23rd June 2011, 3:03
I’ll be happy so long as the drivers cannot do 52 laps on it.
Mike
23rd June 2011, 5:29
Same thought here, I like having many pit stops. Keeps things interesting.
Aldo
23rd June 2011, 14:05
mmmkay, so, this silly games changing the tyres range/compound in the middle of the season are ridiculous. Just my opinion, of course.