Cold slicks a safety issue, says Massa

Felipe Massa has confirmed that F1 drivers are concerned about the reintroduction of slicks and the accompanying ban on tyre warmers for 2009.

The Ferrari driver tried Bridgestone`s latest version of next year`s slicks at Barcelona this week and reported that it was `a pleasure`.

Several F1 drivers have already expressed concern, however, that the slick compounds are extremely difficult to get up to speed when teams have simulated the forthcoming ban on tyre warming blankets.

“That is something to work on,” Massa confirmed in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Diario AS, “as it could be very dangerous.”

Williams racer Nico Rosberg is quoted by the Swiss publication Motorsport Aktuell as also harbouring concerns about the difficult warming-up phase for the slicks.

He recounts GPDA chairman and McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa as telling him that he nearly drove “straight into the wall” after exiting the pits with cold slicks recently.

Some drivers are believed to have revealed that the warm-up phase adds as much as ten seconds to their initial lap times, even though the problem has been significantly smaller with the latest tyres in Barcelona.

Source: GMM

16.4.2008   ▪ Formula One    ▪ Massa    ▪ en.f1-live.com