The Latest Breaking News from Pirelli

The official Mercedes reserve was drafted in for the second day of testing for Pirelli at Barcelona on Wednesday, as work continues evaluating tyres that are not heated by blankets. 

Earlier this year, the FIA opened up the tender process for F1's official supply contract from 2025 to 2027, with the possibility of it being extended until 2028.

At the start of the 60-minute session, AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries set the first-place benchmark at 1m17.918s during the opening laps using the prototype compound construction set to become standard across Pirelli’s range from the upcoming British GP, which several other runners sampled early on too.

The new tyres are a response by Pirelli to increasing downforce levels and cornering loads, and represent a fast-tracking of a construction that was originally intended for 2024.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen leads the drivers' standings by an extended margin of 39 points following his fourth victory of 2023 in Monaco last week.

The chicane before the last corner has been removed from the layout creating a high-speed run through what are now Turns 13 and 14 that puts extra stress on the tyres.

Red Bull has enjoyed an unbeaten start to the 2023 season, with Max Verstappen winning three of the first five races and team-mate Sergio Perez taking top honours in the remaining two.

With Italy already having faced a spell of adverse weather this month, which has triggered storms and floods, the situation has shown no sign of improving this week.

With Italy already having faced a spell of adverse weather this month, which has triggered storms and floods, the situation has shown no sign of improving this week.