Leclerc fastest in final day of two day Pirelli test

Leclerc fastest in final day of two day Pirelli test

6th February 2025 0 By Kamron Kent

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was the fastest as the team and McLaren continued their tyre test for Pirelli at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. 

Feature image credit: Pirelli Motorsport

Wednesday marked the last day of Pirelli’s current tyre test, which was held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the venue of the Spanish Grand Prix. 

Ferrari and McLaren, the 2024 title rivals, were back on track conducting the tests for the sole tyre provider. Oscar Piastri drove the McLaren, while Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton shared driving duties for the Scuderia. 

The test continued from Tuesday’s testing where Leclerc and Hamilton shared the track with McLaren’s Lando Norris. 

The test was deemed a ‘very useful session’ by Pirelli Motorsport Director, Mario Isola, as the circuit is known to be demanding on Pirelli rubber. He said: 

“It was a very useful session, particularly when it came to providing a comparison between the various different constructions for next season, as well as experimenting with some compounds from the harder end of the range.

“The Barcelona circuit is known as one of the most demanding for the tyres in terms of the energy exerted and degradation, therefore the information we have gathered over these two busy days will be very important for the future development of this generation of tyres. 

“It’s a really demanding start to the year with four test sessions even before the season begins and I want to thank all the teams that are working with us, because we know how busy they are at the moment.”

McLaren’s MCL60 and Ferrari’s SF-24 had been adapted to suit the prototype tyres designed around the new technical regulations, coming into force next season. 

A total of 300 laps were completed across the three drivers with Leclerc and Hamilton completing 74 laps each whereas Piastri put in a shift with 152 laps completed. 

Leclerc was the fastest driver of the trio with a lap time of 1m 14.971 seconds, followed by Piastri nearly a second off (1m 15.815s) whereas Hamilton was two seconds off his teammate’s best with a time of 1m 16.759s.

Following this test, and last week’s test at Paul Ricard, Pirelli will head to the Jerez de la Frontera circuit, in Andalusia, to conduct further tests. These tests will be completed by Alpine, over the two days, with McLaren and Mercedes completing a day each of testing, on February 13 to 14.

Read more Formula 1 here:

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up with the latest news from the world of Motorsport! You can also support us on Patreon or our website!

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

CategoryFormula 1 Formula Series News

About the author

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Leave a Reply