The new tyres derived from Pirelli’s 2024 testing programme have been introduced in order to deal with higher than expected load levels as teams have developed their cars and added downforce.
Teams tested them en masse for the first time on Friday in Barcelona, when they were given two sets of the hard C1 compound per driver.
However, most teams opted not to conduct a direct back-to-back test on the day between the current and future hard tyres, making it more difficult for Pirelli to fully assess them.
The fact that teams opted to only run the Silverstone test tyres indicated that they believed the new construction won’t behave much differently from the current one, in effect using the prototypes as part of their regular preparations for the Spanish race.
As the team with arguably the most to lose should the new tyres prove to have different characteristics, Red Bull was keen to find out what the impact of the new tyres will be.
“Yeah, a little bit,” said chief engineer Paul Monaghan when asked by Autosport if the team had learned much from the testing.
Source: Autosport