Mercedes and Williams are testing the 2027 tires at Silverstone, covering nearly 1,200 kilometers in the process—but the Pirelli test isn’t going entirely without a hitch
Mercedes and Williams remained at the track after the Formula 1 race at Silverstone over the weekend to conduct a tire test for Pirelli. Over two days on Tuesday and Wednesday, they tested the new dry-weather tires for the 2027 season.
However, the test did not go entirely without a hitch. On the first day, Carlos Sainz in the Williams FW48 managed only 61 laps. The team then had to end the test early “due to a technical issue,” the nature of which was not specified.
By comparison, George Russell in the Mercedes W17 completed 113 laps on Tuesday—nearly twice as many as Sainz. His fastest lap time was 1:30.695. The Silverstone pole time set by Kimi Antonelli at Saturday’s Grand Prix was 1:28.111.
The championship leader also took to the track himself on Wednesday and completed another 102 laps for Mercedes, with his fastest lap clocking in at 1:31.511 minutes. Alexander Albon contributed another 97 laps in the repaired Williams, bringing the total distance covered by both teams over the two days to 1,171 kilometers.
The personal best times set by Sainz (1:33.576) and Albon (1:31.747) were slightly slower than those of the two Mercedes factory drivers on their respective days; however, the times are not directly comparable, as each driver completed a different test program.
Testing at Silverstone took place in summery temperatures that were even higher than during the previous Grand Prix weekend. The thermometer climbed to 34 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, and the track surface reached temperatures as high as 49 degrees.
The next Pirelli test is scheduled in just three weeks. On July 28 and 29, the Italians will test at the Hungaroring in Budapest after the Grand Prix, alongside Audi, Alpine, and Aston Martin.
The tires for the 2027 Formula 1 season must be homologated by September 1.
