Pirelli’s second test session of 2025 got underway yesterday at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit, the track located near the Spanish town of Granollers. Having already taken part in the two-day session at Paul Ricard, McLaren F1 Racing was again working with Pirelli on 2026 tyre development, joined this time by Scuderia Ferrari HP.
Three race drivers were on duty, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc sharing a modified SF-24, while Lando Norris was at the wheel of the MCL60, specifically adapted to support testing with the FIA Formula 1 World Championship’s sole tyre supplier.
While last week’s work for the Pirelli engineers focused on the intermediate and extreme wet tyres, this time the programme centred around development of the slicks. Specifically, Pirelli and the McLaren drivers tested various combinations of construction and compound, the latter from the hardest end of the range, from the C1 to the C3, as they are well suited to the Spanish track which is particularly demanding on tyres.
The drivers completed a total of 332 laps, with Hamilton accounting for 87 of these (achieving a best time of 1’15”930). Leclerc clocked up 86 laps (1’16”060) while Norris ended proceedings with 159 laps to his name (1’15”215).
Testing at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit continues today, when Oscar Piastri will drive for McLaren, with Leclerc and Hamilton again in the Ferrari, the former in the morning and the latter in the afternoon.
