Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli completed the Pirelli test at the Nürburgring in front of numerous Formula 1 fans in the stands
The Formula 1 tests at the Nürburgring are already history. For two days, Formula 1 cars were finally back on German soil, as Pirelli held a tire test with the two top teams Mercedes and McLaren on the race track in the Eifel region.
After George Russell and Oscar Piastri took the wheel of their respective cars on Tuesday, on Wednesday it was the turn of world championship leader Kimi Antonelli and world champion Lando Norris to drive in front of numerous fans in the so-called “taster grandstand”.
In the first phase of the program, the two drivers continued the work started by their respective teammates on the different construction variants of the C3 compound and completed several runs of eight laps each
In the final hours of track time, the two softer compounds were also evaluated on longer runs. Antonelli drove the C4, while the C5 was fitted to Norris’ car.
Norris completed a total of 108 laps, significantly more than team-mate Piastri, who had to retire early the previous day after 65 laps due to a defect. Antonelli completed one more lap than the McLaren driver.
The best lap times of the day were 1:33.640 minutes for the McLaren driver and 1:32.990 minutes for the Mercedes driver, both of which were faster than Tuesday’s best time of 1:33.899 minutes set by Russell.
For comparison: Valtteri Bottas in the Mercedes set a pole time of 1:25.269 minutes at the last Formula 1 guest appearance in 2020.
A total of 2,106 kilometers were covered over the two days on the Eifel circuit.
The next Pirelli development test is scheduled for mid-May in Magny-Cours, where rain tires will be tested. The slick compounds for next season will return to the track in Barcelona, following the Grand Prix weekend.