What is a Pirelli tyre test?

Testing outside of Formula 1 Grands Prix is tightly regulated, ensuring that no team gains an unfair advantage from out-of-competition running.

There is official Pre-Season Testing and Post-Season Testing, during which teams are free to run current-year cars, and there are also TPC (Testing of Previous Cars) tests.

Carried out at various points throughout the year, TPC tests make up an important part of our F1 and Driver Development programmes. Ahead of a new season, they’re useful for helping Lando and Oscar shake off any off-season rust before the official business begins, while in season, they provide our Development Drivers and our Test and Simulator Drivers an opportunity to get behind the wheel of an F1 car.

They also allow us to give apprentices and interns valuable experience working in a Formula 1 trackside environment as part of their training and development, with several experienced team members at the test who can take on important mentoring roles.

Additionally, there are two types of tests run by Pirelli: TMC (Testing of Mule Cars) and TCC (Testing of Current Cars), more commonly referred to as Pirelli Tyre Tests.

Pirelli has been Formula 1’s sole tyre supplier since 2011, and it is the Italian company’s role to provide a range of dry, intermediate and wet compounds that can be utilised to maximum effect across a variety of circuits, surfaces, temperatures and weather conditions.

Pirelli is permitted to carry out 40 days of tyre testing annually outside of Grands Prix. These typically take shape in the form of one- or two-day tests, sometimes shortly after a race weekend, with regulations stating they cannot be held at a venue due to host a Grand Prix later in the same season.

The primary purposes of a tyre test are for Pirelli to gather data on the current ruleset, refine existing products, develop prototypes, and evaluate potential future tyre compounds.

McLaren was scheduled to participate in a planned two-day test in Saudi Arabia, but this has been relocated to the Nürburgring GP-Strecke, which last hosted Formula 1 machinery in 2020, with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix no longer taking place in April.

Official race drivers are preferred for the tyre tests because, in their effective role as the ‘sensor’ in the car, they can provide the most accurate and representative feedback, given their vast experience of the rubber at their disposal.

Unlike at a TPC, where a team conducts the run plan, everything undertaken at a tyre test is at Pirelli's behest, including the compounds used, stint lengths, and tyre focused debriefs.

At the upcoming test, this year’s car, the McLaren MCL40, will be used in a specification that has already been raced this season. No updated components are permitted, and the setup will be fixed - typically in a low-downforce configuration similar to Monza-spec wings. The power units and gearboxes carried are test-only and separate from each driver’s season allocation.

Alternatively, if a regulation change is imminent, a ‘mule car’ may be used. This could be either a current-spec chassis or a slightly older model that has been modified to simulate the expected dimensions or loads of the next ruleset.

Data gathered during Pirelli tyre tests is shared between teams to ensure that no competitor gains an unfair advantage.