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Conditions for
the first two free practice sessions in Malaysia were in complete contrast
to Australia last week, with ambient temperatures of 33 degrees centigrade
and track temperatures that sometimes exceeded 40 degrees centigrade. Once
more though there was rain, which fell halfway through FP2. This meant that
many teams accelerated their programmes, moving from the P Zero Orange hard
tyre onto the P Zero White medium tyre earlier than expected in FP2. This
was the very first outing for the 2013-specification hard tyre, which is
coloured orange for the first time.
Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery said: “The teams
experienced high ambient temperatures for the first time this year with our
tyres, which was extremely useful as these are also the conditions that we
would anticipate for the rest of the weekend. That includes the high risk of
rain showers, as we saw halfway through FP2. As the circuit dried towards
the end of FP2, this allowed the teams to assess the crossover points
between the intermediates and the slicks. As we expected, we saw quite a
high wear rate today, due to the more extreme nature of our 2013 tyres –
which put the accent firmly on performance – as well as the high
temperatures and abrasive track surface. Nonetheless, degradation stayed
within our anticipated parameters. We have also seen differences in the way
that individual teams use the compounds, with the hard compound lasting 15
laps for some teams and 21 laps or more for others. We‟ll be looking at all
the data tonight to establish a more precise picture for qualifying and the
race.”
May the Force be with you:
Max. g-force braking (longitudinal force): Turn 1 @ -4.8 g
Max. g-force cornering (lateral force): Turn 12 @ 4.6g
Pirelli fact of the day:
* This year‟s fastest times in both free practice sessions in Malaysia were
more than a second faster than the equivalent times from the same sessions
last year.
* The P Zero name seen on the side of Pirelli‟s slick Formula One tyres has
been around for the last 25 years, as it was first used to describe the road
car tyres fitted to the Ferrari F40 in 1987. Pirelli‟s performance tyres
have always been given a „P‟ designation, and with no number yet allocated
during its development, the new tyre was internally known as P0. The name
then stuck, creating the iconic P Zero brand. |
Fastest tyre of the day
FP1: FP2:
1. Webber 1.36.935 Hard Used 1. Raikkonen 1.36.569 Medium
2. Raikkonen 1.37.003 Hard Used 2. Vettel 1.36.588 Medium New
3. Vettel 1.37.104 Hard Used 3. Massa 1.36.661 Medium New
Tyre statistics of the day:
Hard Medium Intermediate Wet
kms driven * 3,275 1,363 698 16
sets used overall ** 47 24 21 1
highest number of laps ** 21 16 10 3
* The above number gives the total amount of kilometres
driven in FP1 and FP2 today, all drivers combined.
** Per compound, all drivers combined.
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