Ferrari ends first day of 2022-tyre testing at Paul Ricard

Scuderia Ferrari completed a successful day at the Paul Ricard Circuit yesterday where the team is performing a two-day 2022-tyre testing programme with Pirelli.

For the 2022 F1 season, the sport is due to introduce new technical regulations along with a move to 18-inch tyres. The testing of the brand-new Pirelli tyrs began in 2019, but the coronavirus pandemic forced the sport to push back its plans to 2022.

After working with the FIA together, the Italian tyre supplier came up with an extensive testing schedule for 2021 that is set to help the sport get prepared to the new tyres for the forthcoming season.

For this week, Mercedes was due to conduct tyre testing, helping Pirelli to finesse its new 18-inch products. However, the Brackley-based outfit pulled out of the tyre test despite a $400,000 credit which indicates that the team is close to the 2021 budget cap total of $145m.

Mercedes has already run two days on the 2022 slick tyres at Imola in April, and is scheduled to take part in a one-day dry rubber test at Budapest following the Hungarian Grand Prix.

To help Pirelli, Ferrari has stepped in and is covering this week’s wet tyre session. It was Charles Leclerc to get behind the wheel yesterday with the Monegasque notching up a total of 83 laps on the 2022 intermediate before racking up a further 58 laps on the full wet tyres.

The 2022 wet-weather tyre test programme continues today with Carlos Sainz getting behind the wheel of Ferrari’s mule car.