Mercedes, McLaren and Alpine took to the track this week with their 2026 Formula 1 cars.
Mercedes and McLaren partook in a Pirelli test at the Nurburgring, with all four race drivers in action.
On Tuesday, George Russell covered 127 laps, with Oscar Piastri down on 65 due to a technical issue. Yesterday, championship leader Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris completed 109 and 108 laps respectively.
The programme focused mostly on testing variants of the C3 compound, which is medium of the C1-C5 range, though the softer compounds were also trialled.
“This test was a very productive two days for us,” Norris said. “The aim was to help Pirelli with their tyre development for the future, and we provided as much detailed feedback as we could. It’s been a while since we’ve driven here at the Nurburgring, so it’s great to get back out on track. I’ve driven here in pretty much every category, so it’s cool to be able to drive it in this era of Formula 1 cars.
“After lacking some track time at the start of the season, it was good to get back behind the wheel again. Sessions like this, even if they aren’t for testing our own upgrades, provide learning opportunities which are useful as we look to push forward this season.”
Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Pirelli
Norris hasn’t raced at the Nurburgring since the 2020 Eifel GP – like Russell – with Piastri’s last competitive outing at the track dating back to his double win from the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup. Antonelli has the most recent – and the least relevant – racing experience at the track, where he took one pole and two podium finishes in the 2022 ADAC F4 season.
“It was good to get back in the car during this break, with the focus on helping Pirelli gather information on these tyres,” Piastri added. “Overall, it was a useful day. We can’t make any changes in these tests, but it’s always good to get the opportunity to make sure all systems work and to get a better understanding of the car, especially with the new regulations.
“We obviously don’t race here, but it’s still nice to experience such a unique circuit again. The Nürburgring is an old-school track with the kerbs and run-offs, which makes it more rewarding when you get things right. We’ll spend a bit of time back in Woking now as we prepare to go racing again in Miami.”
All teams are offered to take part in Pirelli tests, and the data collected is shared across the grid.
Last week on Friday, a two-day test was conducted by Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari at Fiorano, focusing on wet-weather tyres on an artificially soaked track. The seven-time world champion completed 297 laps.
The next Pirelli test will take place mid-May at Magny-Cours – this will be a wet-weather tyre test too.
Meanwhile, Alpine was on track at Silverstone on Wednesday, conducting its second ‘filming day’ of the season with Franco Colapinto. Known as a ‘promotional event’ in the regulations, such a test is limited to 200km and must be conducted with demonstration tyres provided by Pirelli.
Franco Colapinto, Alpine A526
Photo by: Alpine
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