Ferrari and Racing Bulls carried out testing for Pirelli at Imola – Liam Lawson made his ‘comeback’ for the Faenza-based team, whilst Ferrari fielded a total of three drivers
Formula 1 tyre manufacturer Pirelli held a two-day test at Imola on Tuesday and Wednesday. Ferrari tested prototype tyres for the 2027 season on both days, whilst the Racing Bulls were also out on track on Wednesday.
Imola is not currently on the Formula 1 calendar, though rumours persist that the 2026 season finale could be held there in December should the final two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi have to be cancelled, as is widely expected.
On Tuesday, the two Ferrari regular drivers, Lewis Hamilton (morning) and Charles Leclerc (afternoon), were the first to test the 2027 prototypes. They focused on the three softest compounds, namely the C3 to C5 options.
Hamilton completed a total of 64 laps and his personal best time was 1:19.485 minutes. Leclerc completed one lap fewer but was faster with a time of 1:18.832. However, the times from a test like this are not directly comparable.
On Wednesday, reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi took the wheel of the Ferrari, whilst the Racing Bulls were also testing with Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad. For Lawson, it marked a return to his actual team after he had contested the last three Formula 1 races for Red Bull.
Lawson tested the C3 and C4 tyres, whilst Lindblad completed C3 and C5 tests in the afternoon. Giovinazzi drove exclusively on the C3 compound, the hardest option available for this test.
In the timesheets, Lindblad (73 laps) finished top with a time of 1:18.454. Behind him were Lawson (65) with a time of 1:18.471 and Giovinazzi (135) with a time of 1:19.894. Over the two days combined, Pirelli recorded a total of exactly 400 test laps.
The next Pirelli test is scheduled for mid-October at Magny-Cours in France. There, the circuit’s artificial watering system is to be used “to test new solutions for wet conditions”, the tyre manufacturer has announced.
Only slicks were used during the test at Imola. The maximum temperature was 32 degrees, whilst the track surface reached temperatures of up to 50 degrees.
