Zoom Massa fastest on the prime tyre on day one

Felipe Massa set the marker on the opening day of running for the British Grand Prix by using Bridgestone’s hard compound Potenza tyre to set the day’s fastest lap time at the 5.14 km Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire for the ninth round of the championship.

Massa set his time – a 1:19.575s – in the morning 90 minute practice session, where temperatures were cooler than those seen in the afternoon. Massa was almost just over a hundredth faster than the next driver, Heikki Kovalainen.

In the afternoon, times were generally slower and Kovalainen went fastest with a 1:19.989, set on the medium compound. Kovalainen was over half a second faster than the next quickest driver, Mark Webber.

Bridgestone’s hard and medium compounds faced the tough challenge of this high speed abrasive circuit. Today’s fastest lap time was quicker than last year’s pole - set ny Hamilton using the medium compound. Weather forecasts of rain proved to be wide of the mark, and Bridgestone’s wet and extreme wet tyres were not used today. Wind, however, proved to provide a challenge for competitors, particularly in the afternoon session.

Hirohide Hamashima, Tyre Development Director
“The wind at Silverstone made conditions difficult for teams and drivers to judge handling and set-up. From all of today’s data it seems that the medium tyre is the quicker over a lap, offering more grip, however we did not see sufficient long runs on this tyre to judge how durable it will be over a race stint. In contrast to the general trend, today’s fastest lap was set by Massa using the hard compound, when teams were trying a lot of different fuel loads, also the morning session was interrupted.”

“Silverstone is a very abrasive circuit and tyre management of wear and degradation will be very important, so I expect to see teams running longer stints on the medium compound in tomorrow’s morning practice session.”

E.A. © CAPSIS International