Vandoorne fastest in Pirelli tyre test

Stoffel Vandoorne set the fastest time of the season-ending Pirelli tyre test for McLaren.

All eleven teams were present at the Yas Marina Circuit on Tuesday, with Pirelli running a 12-hour non-stop test as part of its 2016 preparations. Teams tested a number of different variations of the new ultrasoft tyre compound which will be used next year, while also testing new constructions for the front and rear tyres.

After spending the first 90 minutes carrying out baseline set-up tests using the current soft and supersoft tyres, teams got down to business on the new compound. Though the tyres used to set the fastest times were not disclosed, Vandoorne setting the pace with a 1:44.103, putting him 0.3s of Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferrari.

Pirelli Motorsport director Paul Hembery says the initial running from the test was positive and leaves the tyre manufacturer with plenty of data to work from.

“We had one shot when it came to testing tyres for next season, and we can be satisfied by what we’ve achieved in this test, even if we have to fully analyze the data," Hembery said. "We’ve tested different versions of the new ultrasoft compound for 2016, which was one of the targets for this session. The ultrasoft’s target for 2016 is to introduce a compound softer than the supersoft and mainly designed as agressive choice for street circuits: with better performance than the latest version of the supersoft tyre and faster degradation, in order to allow the Teams to take a more aggressive approach to race strategy.

"Whether this will produce more pit stops, or any difference in strategies, it’s too early to say for now. We will fully analyse our data and team telemetry once we get back to base. But it seems we are heading in the right direction: the ultrasoft is expected to offer more possibilities for certain races. We also tested some different constructions for both front and rear tyres."

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - F1i's driver ratings

Chris Medland's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix review