Jak Crawford ended one-day F1 test on top, where Pirelli got to run the 2026 tyres which saw Andrea Kimi Antonelli set the pace on those compound.
Aston Martin’s young driver Crawford set pace in overall standings with a time of 1m23.766s, driving the 2025 car using this year’s tyres ahead of Sauber’s Paul Aron (1m23.847s) and Williams’ Luke Browning (1m23.920s) in the Top 3. In fact, the Top 5 places had all the young drivers in the standings.
The first runner using the 2026 compound was Antonelli in the Mercedes after his 1m25.170s lap. He was sixth, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri (1m26.099s) next up in 10th from Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton (1m26.138s) in 11th. There were 25 runners in all across the two types of testing.
The young drivers’ list had a total of 10 drivers in action, while the 2026 tyre test filled up 15 places. Pirelli provided two sets of C3 and C5, four sets of C4, and two sets each of Intermediate and Full wet for the young drivers’ test, where only the slick compounds was out in use eventually.
At the same time, the 2026 runners had one set of C2 tyres and three sets each of C3, C4, and C5 – as well as a set of Intermediates. Additionally, Pirelli highlighted that teams with current DRS system had fixed speed limit of 300kph to reduce downforce to collect better data.
The ones running next year’s ‘straightline mode’ were allowed to run without speed limits but within the FIA placed SLM activation zones. Ahead of the start of the day, Pirelli presented the range of 2026 F1 compounds with new sidewall graphics and design for a new-age look.
Full timing: https://x.com/MsportXtra/status/1998409490170044839?s=20
Other news –
Williams asks fan vote for F1 testing livery: https://www.williamsf1.com/posts/60552237-c25b-474c-9d6a-26063ba65e88/your-vote-your-livery
John Bennett switches to Trident for 2026 F2 season: https://www.tridentmotorsport.com/en/news/fia-f2,-john-bennett-to-contest-the-2026-fia-f2-with-trident-motorsport.html
Kush Maini switches to ART for 2026 F2 season: https://www.fiaformula2.com/Latest/7SAyy3pFmIDFHfZOmSPzW/art-grand-prix-sign-kush-maini-for-the-2026-formula-2-season
