Felipe Massa reckons F1’s single tyre supplier era, beginning in 2007 following the withdrawal of Michelin, will make overtaking even rarer.
Despite his Maranello based employer dominating the Barcelona test last week, the Ferrari driver said the proposed Bridgestone specification for next year will cause pilots to race more cautiously.
“The tyres are harder, they have less grip and the car wants to slide more,” 25-year-old Massa said in Sao Paulo, where he competed in the traditional ‘Da Granja Viana 500’ go-kart race.
He continued: “Wherever we go the braking distances are going to be longer and we are having to be careful to keep from locking the wheels.
“These tyres also make you less aggressive in the corners, so it is not going to help passing.”
Massa, however, denied that Ferrari’s existing relationship with Bridgestone has given the Italian squad a head start over its rivals.
“It is completely different for everyone, including us,” he insisted.
Massa started the Granja Viana from pole on Saturday night but retired after a collision with a slower kart.
His grand prix racing-countryman Rubens Barrichello’s team, however, finished on the podium.
GMMF1
DailyF1News.com
