Mick Schumacher made his first appearance in a McLaren Formula 1 car as he conducted development work for Pirelli at Silverstone today.
The former Haas driver, now the reserve for McLaren’s engine supplier Mercedes, sampled the MCL38 two days after the British Grand Prix. As wet conditions persisted throughout the day he completed 53 laps and set a best time of 1’37.428.
McLaren was one of three teams running at the track. Alexander Albon logged the most laps, covering 86 in his Williams and setting a best time of 1’41.116. Haas reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi lapped in 1’42.124 and did 62 laps.
Pirelli intended to use the test to finalise the construction of its 2025 tyres, the last which will be produced to the current widths. F1’s official tyre supplier is producing slightly softer versions of its hardest compounds for next year.
However the weather conditions meant slick tyre developments was impossible. They took the opportunity to assess new intermediate tyre constructions and look into how well they ran when used without hearing blankets.
The test is Pirelli’s sixth this season. It will continue tomorrow when Lando Norris will replace Schumacher in the McLaren, Albon will hand the Williams over to his team mate Logan Sargeant and Oliver Bearman will drive for Haas.
Pirelli’s testing schedule will continue at Monza where it plans to evaluate the new C6 tyre compound it will introduce next year which is designed to better suit street circuits.
“This year is very busy because we have to develop the 2025 tyres but also to start the 2026 development,” Pirelli motorsport director Mario Isola told media including RaceFans at Silverstone.
“I believe that we have a good product now that is very close to the targets that Formula 1 defined for us. That was thanks to the test days that, after some years, we have been able to get. This is telling you how important it is to test.”
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