Renault has explained the odd sight of drivers running with intermediate Bridgestone tyres on a bone-dry track as testing resumed at Circuit de Catalunya on a chilly Tuesday morning.
According to the French squad, the teams’ latest voluntary testing agreement has significantly reduced the number of tyres that can be used at tests. Presumably, with the overcast yet dry weather, some runners opted to use their allotment of intermediates early in the day so as to save dries.
The reduction in the number of dry weather tyres on offer, as the Japanese company begins its tenure as sole tyre supplier, is to ‘avoid the need for Bridgestone to manufacture and transport excessive quantities of tyres’, a Renault statement read.
Most runners in Barcelona, therefore, only had access to a few sets of tyres for the entire day of running.
On the first day of post-season running in Spain, Bridgestone’s proposed 2007-specification compound proved 2 to 3 seconds slower than the significantly softer tyres used in competition against Michelin this year.
GMMF1
DailyF1News.com
