F1: Leclerc Outpaces Hamilton as Ferrari and McLaren Concludes Barcelona Pirelli Tyre Test

Formula 1 continued its 2026 development at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with a two-day Pirelli tyre test. Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, and Oscar Piastri hit the track to assess prototype tyres for the new-generation cars. The 2026 regulations will introduce smaller, lighter cars with narrower tyres—25mm less at the front and 30mm at the rear—while keeping the same wheel size.

Ferrari’s Hamilton and Leclerc shared the SF-24, while Norris and Piastri drove McLaren’s MCL60, both adapted to reflect 2026 specifications. The test also marked Hamilton’s return after his crash the previous week, which had disrupted Ferrari’s and Leclerc’s testing programme.

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The drivers covered significant mileage over the two days. On Tuesday, Norris led with 159 laps and the fastest time of 1:15.215. Leclerc completed 86 laps with a best of 1:16.060, while Hamilton did 87 laps, clocking 1:15.930. On Wednesday, Leclerc set the quickest time at 1:14.971, followed by Piastri (1:15.815) and Hamilton (1:16.759).

Pirelli Motorsport Director Mario Isola said: 'It was a very useful session, particularly when it came to providing a comparison between the various different constructions for next season, as well as experimenting with some compounds from the harder end of the range.

‘The Barcelona circuit is known as one of the most demanding for the tyres in terms of the energy exerted and degradation, therefore the information we have gathered over these two busy days will be very important for the future development of this generation of tyres. It’s a really demanding start to the year with four test sessions even before the season begins and I want to thank all the teams that are working with us, because we know how busy they are at the moment.'

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Pirelli's next 2026 tyre development test takes place at Jerez, Spain, from February 13-14, with Alpine running both days and McLaren and Mercedes each participating for one day.