Pirelli Motorsport completed their latest F1 2025 tyre test with Alpine and Aston Martin at Spa-Francorchamps, as Stoffel Vandoorne gets his first chance.
Day 1 –
Pirelli’s tyre development programme for the 2025 season continues. There are two days of testing taking place this week at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, the work carried out with the help of Aston Martin and Alpine, today running Stoffel Vandoorne and Esteban Ocon respectively.
The technical agenda concerns finalising tyre construction and continuing with a comparison of various solutions relating to the hardest compounds. It was sunny today with track temperatures exceeding the 50°C mark.
The Belgian driver completed a total of 92 laps, the quickest in 1’45’’561, while Ocon did 97 laps, with a best time of 1’44’’445 The times are clearly not comparable to those set last weekend at this track during the Belgian Grand Prix. Testing continues tomorrow, this time with Jack Doohan in the Alpine while Vandoorne continues with Aston Martin.
Day 2 –
The unpredictable weather of an Ardennes summer has struck again. After a sunny day yesterday at Spa-Francorchamps, the forecast was for another dry day today, which would have allowed the work of developing new slick compounds for 2025 to proceed uninterrupted. However, from 8am the skies gradually clouded over and then it began to rain at 10, sometimes quite heavily.
Therefore, the Pirelli engineers at the track in consultation with the two teams present, Aston Martin and Alpine, changed the day’s run plan. Only Stoffel Vandoorne, the Aston Martin reserve driver selected for this test, would carry out the previously agreed back-up programme, focussing on the development of the extreme and intermediate tyres.
The Belgian completed 71 laps, mainly on a wet track, although the quickest time of 1’48’’342, was set on in the dry. The test consisted of a comparison of different solutions relating to construction and tread pattern on a particularly severe track like Spa. Before the rain fell, Australia’s Jack Doohan was also out on track in the Alpine, completing 15 laps, the quickest in a time of 1’45”569.
The next test session aimed at 2025 takes place in the week following the Italian Grand Prix, on 3 and 4 September. Three teams, Red Bull Racing, Racing Bulls and Mercedes, will be on hand at the Monza circuit to support Pirelli.
Some videos: https://x.com/AlpineF1Team
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[Note: The story is as per press release]