Despite F1's week-long break, not all teams have abandoned Spain, the stage in which the seventh meeting of the season, which he saw once again Max Verstappen's victory ahead of the two excellent Mercedes of Hamilton and Russell, who also beat the Ferrari of Sainz and Leclerc.
Pirelli test: Ferrari and Mercedes on track
Following the Grand Prix, Mercedes and Ferrari remained on the Montmelò track in which they filmed – on Tuesday and Wednesday – to carry out the tests scheduled by Pirelli on the 2024 tyres. For next season, in fact, Pirelli is working to create tires that they don't need electric blankets to get them up to temperature. For this reason, it is essential for the long-P company to have a couple of days of testing available to understand what needs to be improved for next year.
First Leclerc and Russell
On Tuesday, George took to the track Russell – Mercedes side – and Charles Leclerc as far as Ferrari is concerned. The Monegasque he completed 167 laps, equal to two and a half Grands Prix held, with the best performance achieved in 1'18"197. Russell, on the other hand, covered 151, a little less than those of Leclerc, with his best performance clocked at 1'18"400. At the end of the session, Leclerc wanted to say goodbye to Montmelò with a post about Instagram, taking stock of a not very easy weekend: “Time to go after completing 167 laps at Montmelò. The weekend in Barcelona showed it once again that we have a lot of work to do and we must continue to push from tomorrow with the simulator."
Followed by Sainz and Schumacher jr
Charles Leclerc is therefore not discouraged as he handed over the seat to his teammate Carlos yesterday Sainz. The Spaniard completed fewer laps than number #16, with precision 147. Overall, 617 laps were carried out at Ferrari over the two days of testing. In addition to Sainz, there was also an opportunity for Mick on the Montmelò track Schumacher that, on the current W14, completed the beauty of 152 rpm. The German driver had been cut out of F1 at the end of 2022, before Mercedes took him under its wing following the split with Haas and Ferrari.
