This was an important day for Formula 1 as it marked the return of Pirelli tyres to an official test on track. For Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, it fell to Felipe Massa to be the first to try the new tyres. The Brazilian completed a total of 94 laps, the quickest in a time of 1.40.170.

“It was a positive start to begin to understand the behaviour of the Pirelli tyres,” remarked Felipe at the end of the session. “I felt at ease right from the start and there were no unpleasant surprises. We tried two different types and acquired a lot of data which will be useful for the Italian company to develop the tyres still further for the start of the 2011 season: on the hards, there were some difficulties over a long run while the softs worked well both on the very first lap and also after they had done a larger number of laps.”

“I wish to take this opportunity to welcome back Pirelli to Formula 1,” commented Stefano Domenicali. “It is nice to see two symbols of Italian excellence together on track. I am sure that Pirelli will make a very important contribution to our sport in terms of professionalism and technical research.”

Testing at this track continues tomorrow, when Fernando Alonso will be on track for the Scuderia.

TIMES (All timings are unofficial)

Pos Driver Car Time Laps1. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:40.170 942. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:40.500 783. Gary Paffett McLaren 1:40.874 944. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:40.950 835. Robert Kubica Renault 1:41.032 396. Rubens Barrichello Williams 1:41.425 917. Paul di Resta Force India 1:41.615 218. Nico Rosberg MERCEDES GP PETRONAS 1:41.778 819. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso 1:42.019 7110. Adrian Sutil Force India 1:42.859 2011. Timo Glock Virgin 1:44.124 7812. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus 1:44.686 8813. Pastor Maldonado HRT 1:45.728 83

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