(Motorsport-Total.com) – After the cancellation of the two races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, there is no Formula 1 race in April 2026. However, some cars are still taking to the track this month, including the Ferrari SF-26 with record world champion Lewis Hamilton at the wheel.
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On Thursday and Friday, the Scuderia completed a tire test for Pirelli on its own track in Fiorano. During this, Hamilton completed a total of 297 laps over two days. The focus was on working with prototype wet tires for 2027.
Two weeks earlier, Red Bull and the Racing Bulls had also completed a wet test for Pirelli in Suzuka. While they were dependent on the weather in Japan there, the track in Fiorano was watered as planned this time.
Hamilton tested “various configurations of wet tires,” according to Pirelli. Work is currently underway to provide a tire with a larger working window for 2027. The goal is to build a tire that “also covers less heavy rainfall.”
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For this reason, in addition to the full wet tires, “various intermediate tire variants” were also used, according to Pirelli, to determine the so-called “crossover point,” i.e., the point at which a change from full wet tires to intermediates (or vice versa) is worthwhile.
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Hamilton’s fastest lap time at the end of the two days was 1:00.740 minutes. The next Pirelli test is already scheduled for April 14 and 15 at the Nürburgring. There, McLaren and the Mercedes factory team are to test slicks – if the track remains dry.
Pirelli explains: “The race track in Germany, which last hosted a Grand Prix in 2020, is quite balanced in its Formula 1 configuration and emphasizes lateral and longitudinal loads equally.”
“It will therefore represent an interesting testing ground for future slick tire compounds.”
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