04/03/2019
NEWS STORY
Like many, Pirelli admits to being surprised by the pace of the cars during pre-season testing.
The new aero regulations, not to mention the increased weight of the cars, had led to predictions of cars being around 1.5s off last year's pace.
However, from the outset it was clear that this was not the case, and by the end of testing Sebastian Vettel's best time was almost a second quicker than 2018.
"We've had eight productive days, with teams accumulating plenty of running in generally good conditions," said Pirelli's Mario Isola as he reflected on the test, "although - as expected at this time of year - without reaching the temperatures we anticipate during the season.
"Considering this, we are satisfied that all five compounds are performing as we planned, even though the softest compound is not really suited to Barcelona.
"As usual, during the second week of testing, teams were sampling a wider range of compounds and targeting performance and race procedures in preparation for Australia.
"What's perhaps more surprising is the pace of the cars at this point in the season," he admits, "not only are they going faster than last year's test, despite being 10 kilograms heavier.
"We experienced a bit of graining in cooler temperatures, which should disappear in warmer weather, and no blistering. It's hard to get a precise read on degradation in these conditions.
"At the moment we're seeing a gap of around 0.6 to 0.7 seconds between each of the compounds seen on track in Barcelona, which should translate to our target of about 0.9 seconds on a longer circuit in warmer weather."
Driver by Driver on Different Tyre Compounds
| Driver | Team | Tyre | Time | Gap |
| Albon | Toro Rosso | C5 | 1:16.882 | 135.444 mph |
| Albon | Toro Rosso | C4 | 1:18.649 | 1.767 |
| Bottas | Mercedes | C5 | 1:16.561 | 136.012 mph |
| Bottas | Mercedes | C3 | 1:18.862 | 2.301 |
| Bottas | Mercedes | C2 | 1:20.127 | 3.566 |
| Gasly | Red Bull | C5 | 1:17.091 | 135.077 mph |
| Gasly | Red Bull | C3 | 1:17.715 | 0.624 |
| Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | C5 | 1:17.639 | 134.124 mph |
| Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | C3 | 1:18.511 | 0.872 |
| Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | C4 | 1:18.589 | 0.950 |
| Grosjean | Haas | C5 | 1:17.076 | 135.103 mph |
| Grosjean | Haas | C4 | 1:17.854 | 0.778 |
| Grosjean | Haas | C3 | 1:18.563 | 1.487 |
| Hamilton | Mercedes | C5 | 1:16.224 | 136.613 mph |
| Hamilton | Mercedes | C4 | 1:17.977 | 1.753 |
| Hamilton | Mercedes | C2 | 1:18.097 | 1.873 |
| Hamilton | Mercedes | C3 | 1:18.943 | 2.719 |
| Hamilton | Mercedes | Proto | 1:20.818 | 4.594 |
| Hulkenberg | Renault | C5 | 1:16.843 | 135.513 mph |
| Hulkenberg | Renault | C4 | 1:18.800 | 1.957 |
| Hulkenberg | Renault | C3 | 1:19.056 | 2.213 |
| Hulkenberg | Renault | C2 | 1:20.980 | 4.137 |
| Kubica | Williams | C5 | 1:18.993 | 131.825 mph |
| Kubica | Williams | C2 | 1:21.542 | 2.549 |
| Kvyat | Toro Rosso | C5 | 1:16.898 | 135.416 mph |
| Kvyat | Toro Rosso | C4 | 1:18.682 | 1.784 |
| Leclerc | Ferrari | C5 | 1:16.231 | 136.601 mph |
| Leclerc | Ferrari | C3 | 1:18.046 | 1.815 |
| Magnussen | Haas | C5 | 1:17.565 | 134.251 mph |
| Magnussen | Haas | C3 | 1:18.199 | 0.634 |
| Magnussen | Haas | C4 | 1:18.769 | 1.204 |
| Norris | McLaren | C5 | 1:17.084 | 135.089 mph |
| Norris | McLaren | C4 | 1:17.709 | 0.625 |
| Perez | Racing Point | C5 | 1:17.791 | 133.861 mph |
| Perez | Racing Point | C3 | 1:19.944 | 2.153 |
| Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | C5 | 1:17.239 | 134.818 mph |
| Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | C4 | 1:18.209 | 0.970 |
| Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | C3 | 1:19.462 | 2.223 |
| Ricciardo | Renault | C5 | 1:17.114 | 135.037 mph |
| Ricciardo | Renault | C4 | 1:18.164 | 1.050 |
| Ricciardo | Renault | C3 | 1:19.886 | 2.772 |
| Ricciardo | Renault | C2 | 1:20.983 | 3.869 |
| Ricciardo | Renault | C1 | 1:22.597 | 5.483 |
| Russell | Williams | C5 | 1:18.130 | 133.281 mph |
| Russell | Williams | C3 | 1:20.997 | 2.867 |
| Sainz | McLaren | C5 | 1:16.913 | 135.390 mph |
| Sainz | McLaren | C4 | 1:17.144 | 0.231 |
| Sainz | McLaren | C3 | 1:19.354 | 2.441 |
| Stroll | Racing Point | C5 | 1:17.556 | 134.267 mph |
| Stroll | Racing Point | C2 | 1:19.664 | 2.108 |
| Stroll | Racing Point | C3 | 1:20.433 | 2.877 |
| Verstappen | Red Bull | C3 | 1:17.709 | 134.003 mph |
| Vettel | Ferrari | C5 | 1:16.221 | 136.619 mph |
| Vettel | Ferrari | C3 | 1:17.925 | 1.704 |