Pirelli completes crucial 2027 tyre testing at Silverstone with Kimi Antonelli and Alex Albon. Formula 1: Antonelli and Albon complete final Silverstone Pirelli tyre test for 2027.

The second and final day of Pirelli’s Formula 1 tyre test at Silverstone has come to an end, concluding a two-day programme carried out in collaboration with Mercedes and Williams. The session produced a total of 1,171 kilometres of running, providing the final key data needed to approve the construction of the 2027 dry-weather tyres before the September 1 deadline.

Taking over from their team-mates who drove on the opening day were current championship leader Kimi Antonelli for Mercedes and Williams driver Alex Albon.

Antonelli completes more than 600 kilometres for Mercedes

Kimi Antonelli continued Mercedes’ planned development programme, beginning the day with a series of screening runs, following the same approach used during Tuesday’s session. In the afternoon, the Italian shifted his attention to long-run simulations, a crucial phase of the test aimed at evaluating the consistency and durability of the most promising tyre constructions identified earlier in the day.

Antonelli completed 102 laps, covering a total of 600 kilometres. His fastest lap was a 1:31.511, around two tenths of a second quicker than his fastest race lap during the British Grand Prix weekend. For comparison, George Russell completed 113 laps during the first day of testing.

Albon focuses on the hardest tyre compounds

At Williams, Alex Albon followed a different programme centred specifically on Pirelli’s hardest tyre compounds, the C1 and C2. During the morning, the Anglo-Thai driver completed several performance runs designed to assess peak grip over a single lap before switching to long-distance running in the afternoon to further evaluate the behaviour and consistency of the most promising compounds.

Albon posted a personal best time of 1:31.747 while completing 97 laps, equivalent to 571 kilometres. His programme was completed successfully after the technical issues that disrupted Carlos Sainz’s running on the previous day.

Track conditions were slightly warmer than on Tuesday, with ambient temperatures reaching 34°C and the asphalt peaking at 49°C during the session.

Next stop: Hungaroring

Pirelli’s next development test will take place immediately after the Hungarian Grand Prix. Running is scheduled for Tuesday, July 28, and Wednesday, July 29, at the Hungaroring, with Audi, Alpine and Aston Martin set to take part in the next phase of the 2027 tyre development programme.