Schumacher glad to switch tires

UPDATE Michael Schumacher likes a race car with tires that have good grip at the front. He is cautiously optimistic the new Pirelli F1 tires will help put him back at the front of the grid.

"They have a very different combination," he said when asked if the Pirellis seemed more suited to his style. "Whether [or not] you can say the front tire is now stronger and that's going to suit my style, what is very important is how next year's car is going to suit these tires. That's very important. But for the first step, from what we have seen here, I feel positive about the tires."

He emphasized that the adaptation to the new tires was still at a very early stage and that fine-tuning was required on both sides

"I was quite happy with the first test. A lot of positive feedback so we can now start to do the detailed work on the car," said Schumacher. "The tires performed reasonably consistently and were good. I'm sure they're making some small adjustments for the future, but all in all I'm quite happy."

11/19/10 Nico Rosberg has hinted that – contrary to popular belief – Mercedes Grand Prix’s saving grace will not be the new Pirelli tires in the 2011 season, with the German having finished Abu Dhabi testing eighth on the Yas Marina timesheets.

It is widely known that team-mate Michael Schumacher – who will be driving on Saturday – is highly keen to switch onto new tires for next season, although Rosberg appeared less convinced after ending the first day 1.6 seconds off Felipe Massa’s pace.

“As a team, and particularly the engineers, we did a really good job to be well prepared for this week's Pirelli test, with the work back at the factory and the support here at the track proving invaluable," German Rosberg began.

“That really helps once you get the tires on and we were able to focus precisely on the setup direction and have found various improvements. It's a good start; however, there is obviously still some way to go before we get the best out of the tires."