Robin Frijns: “This Was Hard Work!”

Robins Frijns has experienced a tough first day at the Abu Dhabi Young Driver Test, as the Dutchman got his first true taste of Formula 1 machinery behind the wheel of the Sauber C31. The newly-crowned World Series by Renault Champion ended the day 4th fastest overall, behind Gary Paffett, Antonio Felix da Costa and Kevin Magnussen.

Throughout the morning period, Sauber decided to run aero work with Frijns, as the young Dutchman got to grips with Formula 1 machinery and the Pirelli tyres. Despite his many laps around the Yas Marina circuit, Sauber did not send Frijns out with qualifying fuel level. With the 21-year-old having only run on Michelin tyres before, the Pirelli tyres were completely new to him, therefore presenting a tough challenge for Frijns in the opening day of testing.

“Gosh this was hard work!” Explained Robins Frijns, “Not in the beginning but then suddenly I felt it, especially from the brakes. I am really tired now and know I have to go and exercise more. In the morning we started with installation laps so that I could get used to the car and the steering wheel, which isn’t that easy. In the afternoon I found it hard to understand the tyre compounds. I had only driven on Michelin tyres before, and with the Pirelli medium and soft compounds it was difficult for me after only one lap. I had the feeling the more careful I handled them the worse it became. There is obviously a lot to learn.”

Robin Frijns will relinquish his drive with Sauber for the remaining two days, as reserve driver and GP2 driver Esteban Gutierrez takes over driving duties for the Swiss outfit. Robins Frijns will instead test for Red Bull on the third and final day of the Young Driver Test, taking over from GP3 driver Antonio Felix da Costa.

Picture Copyright © Sauber Motorsport AG

2012 Pirelli Tyres Receive New Markings

The Pirelli tyres for the coming 2012 season have received new markings to help make it clearer to fans which type of tyres the drivers are using throughout the season, with a new range of wet tyres also unveiled.

The colors which depict the different types of tyre have been slightly tweaked, with the writing becoming more bolder with the bands near the lettering becoming slightly larger. There has also been a slight change to help fans differentiate between the white (medium) tyres and the silver (hard) tyres with the writing on the silver variant becoming more darker.

Pirelli have also changed the range of wet tyres that will be on offer to the F1 teams throughout the season, with the P-Zero range being replaced by the Cinturato range which Pirelli made famous in the 1950s. The colors of the wet tyres have also been changed, with the full wets now in blue with the intermediate tyres in green.

In 2012, Pirelli also hope to help make F1 more exciting, with a more aggressive approach from Pirelli in its tyres compounds. Pirelli will also allow the Formula One Management (FOM) more access more data, with the idea that the data will then be able to be adopted in an on-screen graphic which will be able to show the fans how old a particular tyre is.

Pirelli have also slightly changed the construction of the tyre, with the end result being a slightly squarer variant which is aimed at helping improve grip and handling for the 2012 season.

Pirelli enter their second year as sole tyre supplier for the F1 teams after replacing Bridgestone, who were the sole supplier after Michelin ended their involvement in F1 after the 2006 season.

Russian driver Vitaly Petrov was today hinted at potentially joining Pirelli as their test driver, however both Petrov and Pirelli denied these rumors.