F1 News: Norris buries Hamilton and Leclerc in Pirelli tire test

Two F1 teams, McLaren and Ferrari, have been working with Pirelli on the development of 2026 F1 tires.

For the 2026 season, Pirelli will introduce narrower tires with 25mm trimmed off the front wheel width.

On Tuesday, both Ferrari and McLaren were on track at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, home of the Spanish Grand Prix. Over the course of the day, three different rubber compounds, ranging from C1 to C3, were tested, with various constructions.

Lando Norris, who drove a 2023-spec McLaren MCL60 – modified to replicate anticipated 2026 grip levels, turned a best of 1m15.215s to easily beat the Ferrari duo of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton drove a newer 2024-spec SF-24 Ferrari, modified to replicate anticipated grip characteristics of 2026 F1 machinery, but they were no match for the McLaren of Norris.

Tuesday Test Times

Hamilton completed 87 laps with a best time of 1m15.930s, marginally faster than his new teammate Leclerc, who clocked a best of 1m16.060s, but Hamilton may have set his time on a softer compound.

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The FIA’s regulations on mule cars state: “Cars must include and are limited to the minimal modifications necessary for the purpose of testing development tyres or for testing components or systems on behalf of the FIA for future championship seasons, as determined by the FIA.

“No test parts, test software or component changes will be permitted which give any sort of information to the competitor that is unrelated to the mule car test unless specifically requested by the FIA.”

Testing in Spain will continue on Wednesday, with Oscar Piastri set to replace Norris for McLaren.

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