Pirelli Nürburgring test: rain disrupts Day 1 with technical issues for Oscar Piastri. Rain and technical issues shape Day 1 of the Pirelli test at the Nürburgring.

Pirelli Nürburgring test: rain affects Day 1, issues for Piastri

After the two-day Pirelli test session in which Ferrari also took part at Fiorano last week, another two-day testing programme has begun today at the Nürburgring, featuring Mercedes and McLaren. On Day 1 at the German circuit, George Russell and Oscar Piastri went out on track in a day heavily influenced by weather conditions. Tomorrow, their respective teammates will take over driving duties.

Rain impacts the opening hours of the day, technical issue for Piastri

Rain that fell overnight affected the first part of the day, leaving a damp circuit during the early hours of running at the Nürburgring. Since the planned programme focused on dry compound running, both drivers had to wait for a long period in the garage before being able to return to the track.

“Oscar Piastri for McLaren and George Russell for Mercedes completed several eight-lap runs in the first part of the programme, testing some structural variations on the C3 compound,” Pirelli explained in its usual end-of-day report. “The solutions considered the most effective were then tested later in the afternoon over longer runs by the British driver, specifically to validate their behaviour over more representative mileage. A technical issue, however, kept Oscar Piastri’s car in the garage from the lunch break until almost the end of the session.”

Russell and Piastri mileage, Antonelli and Norris take over on Day 2

Regarding track conditions at the Eiffel circuit and the mileage completed by the two drivers, the sole tyre supplier added: “Track temperatures reached 37°C in sun-exposed areas, while ambient temperatures never exceeded 15°C. Oscar Piastri set his fastest lap in 1:35.096, while Russell stopped the clock at 1:33.899. Piastri completed 65 laps (335 kilometres in total), while Russell completed 127 laps (654 kilometres).”

For the second and final day of running at the Nürburgring, the programme will continue with the teammates, as Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli take over to continue the development work started today.