Charles Leclerc set the fastest time of Pirelli’s tyre test in Barcelona on Wednesday, as the quickest Ferrari driver.
The two Ferrari drivers carried out a two-day test on behalf of Pirelli this week, while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri also joined in to help out the tyre manufacturer.
Charles Leclerc sets the pace in Pirelli tyre test
Carrying out 74 laps, Leclerc set a best time of 1:14.971 to go almost a second clear of the McLaren of Oscar Piastri, while Lewis Hamilton was a further nine-tenths of a second behind in the second Ferrari.
Hamilton’s best time was 0.8 seconds down on his best time from Tuesday, while Leclerc improved by over a second from his Tuesday time. Norris’ best time from Tuesday was around six-tenths faster than Piastri’s best on Wednesday.
1. Charles Leclerc 1:14.971 74 Laps
2. Oscar Piastri 1:15.815 + 0.844 74 Laps
3. Lewis Hamilton 1:16.759 +1.788 152 Laps
Of course, it’s important to note that such times are irrelevant given that each driver carried out different programmes on behalf of Pirelli and, regardless of that fact, testing is a very different discipline and requires a different skillset from the competitive aspect of a Grand Prix weekend.
“It was a very useful session, particularly when it came to providing a comparison between the various different constructions for next season,” said Pirelli’s Mario Isola of the session.
Ferrari and McLaren carried out the two-day test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with Pirelli determining the run programme for the attendees as preparations for the new 2026 slick compounds continue.
Both teams are using modified versions of their 2024 cars, optimised to simulate the downforce levels expected of the F1 2026 cars under the new regulations – circa a 20 percent drop on the 2025 cars. The 2026 tyres are narrower than this years’, with the front tyres reduced by 25 millimetres and the rears by 30.
On Tuesday, Lewis Hamilton proved the quicker of the two Ferrari drivers in the SF-24 as he set a 1:15.93 to pip Charles Leclerc by 0.13 seconds – although both of them were over seven-tenths of a second down on pacesetter Lando Norris as the McLaren driver set a 1:15.21 in the mule MCL60.
But, on the final day of the test, Leclerc had the upper hand as he set the quickest time of the three attending drivers.
“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.
“It’s a really demanding start to the year with four test sessions even before the season begins and I want to thank all the teams that are working with us, because we know how busy they are at the moment.”
With the Barcelona test now concluded, Pirelli heads to Jerez for the next test of the F1 2026 tyre constructions.
Alpine will conduct the test for Pirelli on the 13th and 14th of February, while McLaren and Mercedes will also carry out a day of testing each.
Following official pre-season testing in Bahrain, Alpine and Williams will then carry out another Pirelli tyre test on the 2nd and 3rd of March, with both teams running both days.