Pirelli completes F1 2026 tyre test at Jerez with three teams

FormulaRapida.net

2 days ago

Pirelli completes two day F1 2026 tyre test at Jerez with three teams running the dry compound in a mule car.

Day 1 –

The third session of testing for Pirelli in 2025 began today at the Circuito Angel Nieto at Spain’s Jerez de la Frontera with the collaboration of the BTW Alpine F1 team and McLaren F1 Racing, the latter team having already taken part in the year’s first two tests at Le Castellet and Barcelona.

Just like last week in Catalonia, this session was focused on the development of solutions for the slicks in the variety of tyres for 2026. In particular the teams tried out different combinations of constructions and compounds, which ranged from C2 to C4. As the day progressed Patricio O’Ward took to the track at the wheel of the MCL60 while Pierre Gasly drove the A523 Alpine, both ‘mule’ versions of the cars that competed in the 2023 championship.

The Mexican driver racked up a total of 153 laps while the Frenchman completed 157 laps. The fastest laps the drivers recorded in the course of the day were 1’19’’484 for O’Ward and 1’18’’092 per Gasly, though these were far from meaningful marks given the specifics of the different work programmes Pirelli carried out with the two teams.

The test session at the Circuito Angel Nieto will continue tomorrow with a partial change of line-up on track. In accordance with the scheduled programme McLaren will be replaced by the Mercedes mule car driven by George Russell. The Englishman will be on track alongside Alpine for the day’s two sessions: Jack Doohan will be driving for the French team.

Day 2 –

The third test session of 2025 came to an end this afternoon at the Angel Nieto circuit in Jerez de la Frontera in southern Spain. Once again, testing centred on development of the 2026 tyres, which as previously mentioned maintain the current 18” diameter, while being slightly narrower, by 25 millimetres at the front and 30 at the rear. This session followed on from those at Le Castellet in January and in Barcelona last week. These two days focussed on a comparison of several different constructions and compounds.

Three teams were on track: BWT Alpine F1 Team ran both days, joined yesterday by the McLaren F1 Team and today by the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 TEAM. Today, the Australian Jack Doohan ran a mule car based on the Alpine A523, while Englishman George Russell was at the wheel of a W15, the car he drove last season, adapted to fit the new dimension of tyre. A total of 248 laps were completed, split as follows: 113 for Doohan and 135 for Russell. The two teams ran different programmes so their performance cannot be compared, but for the record, the Australian’s best lap time was a 1’17’’255 and the Englishman posted a 1’17’976.

“Yet another good test in the early days of 2025, thanks to the vital collaboration of the three teams involved,” commented Pirelli’s Director of Motorsport, Mario Isola. “In addition to the data gathered in Paul Ricard and the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit, we now have a great deal of very important information from the Jerez circuit.

“Even though it has not featured on the championship calendar for many years now, it is still an interesting test bench, partly down to the good weather it enjoys at this time of year. Now we still have one more test session prior to the start of the 2025 season, to bring to an end this initial and crucial phase of working on track.

“The information gathered so far will allow us to direct our development in an ever more precise fashion for the coming tests.” Pirelli’s next session will take place at the Sakhir circuit on 2 and 3 March, when Alpine will once again be on track, this time joined by Williams.