Lewis Hamilton completed his test program for Pirelli at the Fiorano circuit at the end of this week. Under controlled wet conditions, work was carried out on Thursday and Friday on the development of new rain tires. The Ferrari circuit, equipped with a special irrigation system, provided the ideal setting to evaluate both Full Wet and Intermediate tires, despite the relatively warm conditions in Italy.
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The focus was initially on new prototypes for extreme rain, including a modified tread pattern that was previously tested by Red Bull and Racing Bulls at Suzuka. Pirelli also wants to increase the operating range of the Full Wet tires, as they have rarely been used in recent years. Later in the day, a switch was made to a variant of the Intermediate tire. This also allowed for the analysis of the transition between different rain tires.
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Hamilton completed an intensive program on Friday with 155 laps, totaling 461 kilometers, and recorded a fastest time of 1:00,740. Over two test days, a total of 884 kilometers were covered. Tire development will continue next week, when Mercedes and McLaren complete a private test session at the Nürburgring on 14 and 15 April. Meanwhile, Ferrari is planning a filming day at Monza, presumably on 22 April. The Scuderia hopes to test crucial upgrades for the SF-26 there, in an attempt to close the gap to Mercedes.
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