F1 teams will sample Pirelli tyres for the first time at the Yas Marina circuit on Friday and Saturday.
Pirelli say the tyres being used are not the definitive compounds that will be raced in 2011. However most teams are using their race drivers to gather data on the first batch of tyres from the Italian manufacturer.
A notable exception is McLaren, who are using the same pair that drove for them in the recent young drivers’ test: Oliver Turvey and Gary Paffett.
Mark Webber will also not be at the test as he is doing a show run in Perth, Australia. New world champion Sebastian Vettel will do both days’ running for Red Bull.
Pastor Maldonado will return to test for HRT again, having driven for them in the young drivers’ test on Tuesday.
As recently as last Saturday, Williams were saying Nico Hülkenberg would drive for them on the first day of the test. As his departure from the team was confirmed two days’ later, Rubens Barrichello will now do both days.
Also in for both days is Robert Kubica at Renault. At Sauber, Kamui Kobayashi will do the bulk of the running with new driver Sergio Perez stepping in on the afternoon of the second day.
Meanwhile Force India will split the two days’ running between both their 2010 race drivers as well as reserve driver Paul di Resta.
Here are the drivers who are expected to take part in the test:
| Team | Friday 19th | Saturday 20th |
| Red Bull | Sebastian Vettel | Sebastian Vettel |
| McLaren | Oliver Turvey | Gary Paffett |
| Ferrari | Felipe Massa | Fernando Alonso |
| Mercedes | Nico Rosberg | Michael Schumacher |
| Renault | Robert Kubica | Robert Kubica |
| Williams | Rubens Barrichello | Rubens Barrichello |
| Force India | Adrian Sutil, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Paul di Resta (order TBC) | |
| Sauber | Kamui Kobayashi | Kamui Kobayashi (am), Sergio Perez (pm) |
| Toro Rosso | Jaime Alguersuari | Sebastien Buemi |
| Lotus | TBA (Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli expected) | |
| HRT | Pastor Maldonado | Pastor Maldonado |
| Virgin | TBA (Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi expected) | |
Updates will be made to the table above as they are received.
The teams will test soft and medium-compound slick tyres, with a coloured stripe on the sidewall to distinguish between them. Each team will have eight sets of tyres for the test and a Pirelli engineer on-hand.
Earlier versions of Pirelli’s tyres have already been tested at Mugello, Monza, Barcelona, Valencia, Jerez and Paul Ricard by Nick Heidfeld, Pedro de la Rosa and Romain Grosjean using a Toyota TF109. Pirelli will conduct further testing of their own in Bahrain in December.
Friday’s test marks the first time in 19 years that Pirelli tyres have been used in Formula 1. The company last bowed out following the 1991 Australian Grand Prix.
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