The Formula 1 2011 season is looking like a mouth-watering proposition. 2010 was a cracker with an intense battle for the championship, and next year will have an unknown spice thrown into the mix: all new tires. With Bridgestone exiting the sport at the end of this year's season, all the teams will be running Pirelli rubber from 2011 onwards. Speedhunters reader Abdullah-Al-Sayer happened to catch the ex-Toyota F1 team testing out the new tires.
Abdullah was attending an open track day at Bahrain's F1 circuit, when he stumbled upon a rare sighting in the pitlane…
…A naked Formula 1 car.
The Toyota F1 team had ceased competing at the end of the 2009 season. Abdullah spoke with the team, and was told they were using the Toyota F1 to test the Pirelli tires for the 2011 season.
Continuing on from what I was discussing with the Team NFS Z4, viewing a race car up close makes you appreciate their intricate – and beautiful – designs. Seeing an F1 car without its livery is certainly a rare privilege!
Testing tires is obviously taken seriously in Formula 1. Here you can see a never-ending wall of tires wrapped in electric warmers, while engineers download and decipher the car's telemetry.
A big thanks to Abdullah, who organizes the Gulfrun, for sending through these pics!
- Charles Kha
Photos by Abdullah Al-Sayer