Ferrari and McLaren have completed their work with Pirelli as they spent two days at the Circuit de Catalunya testing the potential compounds that will be used during the 2026 Formula 1 season.
In a throwback to previous years of F1 testing, several teams descended on the current home of the Spanish Grand Prix to prepare for the upcoming season.
Ferrari have spent plenty of time in Barcelona, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc driving their 2023 car as part of a testing of previous cars outing.
Much has been made of Hamilton’s crash in Barcelona last week that denied Leclerc more track time, although Ferrari decided to combine the latest Pirelli test with further running in their 2023 car.
Alongside Ferrari’s work, Williams, Alpine and McLaren have also been at the track over the past few days.
On Tuesday, Lando Norris was the fastest driver involved in Pirelli’s testing, although his quickest lap was some way off his 2024 pole position effort.
There are plenty of caveats to consider when comparing these numbers, with McLaren’s 2023 car designed to aerodynamically run closer to how next year’s machines will behave.
Today, it was Oscar Piastri’s turn to test the tyres and he managed to outpace one of Ferrari’s drivers on this occasion.
Charles Leclerc fastest during latest Pirelli tyre test with Oscar Piastri beating Lewis Hamilton
A tweet from The Race journalist Jon Noble shared more details about how the final day of running at the Circuit de Catalunya ended.
He said: “Final day of Pirelli 2026 tyre testing in Barcelona is done.
“Best times below – but they are pretty meaningless due to run programmes, fuel loads, tyre compounds etc.
1. Charles Lecerc 1m14.971s (74 laps)
2. Oscar Piastri 1m15.815s (152 laps)
3. Lewis Hamilton 1m16.759 (74 laps)
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Final day of Pirelli 2026 tyre testing in Barcelona is done. Best times below – but they are pretty meaningless due to run programmes, fuel loads, tyre compounds etc.
1. Charles Lecerc 1m14.971s (74 laps)
2. Oscar Piastri 1m15.815s (152 laps)
3. Lewis Hamilton 1m16.759 (74 laps) pic.twitter.com/JuCX7y0q1t— Jon Noble (@NobleF1) February 5, 2025
As Noble explains, very little can be made of these times given how few details have been provided about the cars.
Pirelli determines what compounds each driver uses, so much so that even the teams are unaware and they exclusively receive the vast majority of the data.
Piastri has benefitted from being able to complete more laps than both Ferrari drivers combined, and while Hamilton was faster than Leclerc yesterday, the Monegasque’s best time is quicker than any run the seven-time world champion managed.
Talking about the session in a press release, Pirelli’s motorsport director Mario Isola said: “It was a very useful session, 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.”
Lewis Hamilton’s next Ferrari run set to be in their 2025 Formula 1 car
It’s believed that both Hamilton and Leclerc completed additional TPC running alongside their Pirelli testing in Barcelona.
This means that they’ve both taken part in four days of testing outside of the official three days of action coming up in Bahrain at the end of February.
Hamilton will therefore have to wait until the filming day scheduled for the day after the F1 75 launch event to return to the track.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory
That will be his and Leclerc’s first time getting to experience Ferrari’s 2025 car when it fires up at their private circuit at Fiorano for another filming day.
The mileage allowed is much more limited than a regular testing day, but they will only have a week longer to wait before they have three days of unlimited running in Sakhir.
