Felipe Massa reassured by Pirelli safety

With the exception of Mercedes, all the teams entered in Formula 1 had the opportunity, during the Silverstone Youth Tests, to test the new tires that Pirelli intends to use for the next Grand Prix, in Hungary. New compounds which, remember, were required by the tire bursts encountered during the race in Great Britain and delaminations seen during previous Grands Prix.

Present last week in England and himself the victim of one of his tires exploding during the race at the end of June, Felipe Massa was satisfied with these tests. “ It seems that the new tires work better, at least compared to what we saw in the race here?, rejoiced the Brazilian. “After three days, no one had the slightest problem, at least with regard to the security aspect, which is the most important thing. » Indeed, no explosion or delamination was observed at the end of these tests, even though the conditions were even hotter compared to the British Grand Prix.

But doubts remain. And for good reason, the pilot Ferrari fears that the problems of excessive wear will reappear at the following round, in Hungary, next weekend. Particularly with regard to the hard rubber prototype provided by the Italian manufacturer. “The hard prototype may seem too hard to race with. I think in the next Grands Prix we should have a choice of softer compounds, because they can run at lower temperatures and last longer. »

It must be said that until now, the extreme heat has not been successful for Scuderia Ferrari and its F138. “Temperature has a significant effect on our car and, here (Silverstone) for the race for example, it didn’t help us”, remembers the native of Sao Paulo. “But we will see what happens in Hungary, where we can expect warmer conditions. "It takes a lot of downforce there and we hope we find the right solutions to be competitive."