Pirelli concludes Barcelona test – Pitpass.com

Today was the second and final day of testing for Pirelli at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit, once again in conjunction with Ferrari and McLaren.

The same three drivers were working with the Pirelli engineers on development of the 2026 tyres, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton sharing a Ferrari SF-24, while Oscar Piastri was at the wheel of a McLaren MCL60.

Both cars had been adapted to suit the prototype tyres designed around the new technical regulations that will come into force next year, being narrower than the current ones by 25 millimetres at the front and 30 at the rear.

A total of 300 laps was completed, 74 by the Monegasque driver, 74 for his team-mate and 152 for the Australian.

Though they have no real significance given the different work programmes carried out for Pirelli by the two teams, Leclerc posted a best time of 1:14.971, Hamilton a 1:16.759 and Piastri a 1:15.815.

“It was a very useful session,,” said Mario Isola, “particularly when it came to providing a comparison between the various different constructions for next season, as well as experimenting with some compounds from the harder end of the range.

“The Barcelona circuit is known as one of the most demanding for the tyres in terms of the energy exerted and degradation, therefore the information we have gathered over these two busy days will be very important for the future development of this generation of tyres.

“It’s a really demanding start to the year with four test sessions even before the season begins and I want to thank all the teams that are working with us, because we know how busy they are at the moment.”

Following on from last week’s test in Paul Ricard and this one, the Pirelli engineers are heading further south next week, for two days of testing at Jerez de la Frontera on 13 and 14 February.

Alpine will be taking part on both days, while McLaren and Mercedes will do one day each.

The final pre-season test will take place at Bahrain’s Sakhir circuit on 2 and 3 March with Alpine and Williams running both days. This same venue will then host the only three day test when all teams will run their 2025 cars prior to the opening round, the Australian Grand Prix.