McLaren encountered issues on the first day of a vital Pirelli tyre test ahead of the resumption of the Formula 1 season in two weeks, halting running time for Oscar Piastri.
The Italian marque is putting its new rubber through its paces again, having completed recent tests at Suzuka with Red Bull, and at Fiorano with Ferrari.
With F1 on an extended break due to the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Grands Prix, Pirelli opted to take to the former F1 venue of the Nurburgring to maximise the free time.
And this week, it is the turn of McLaren and Mercedes to be utilised as the tyre guinea pigs, with Piastri and George Russell selected for the task.
After a damp morning, the two began to explore the Eifel mountain circuit, testing primarily with what Pirelli described as “construction variants” on the C3 compound.
But going into the afternoon, Piastri suffered an apparent technical issue – the details of which are currently unknown – and was forced to abandon his running, having set a personal best of 1:35.096s.
“The solutions considered most promising were then evaluated over longer distances late in the afternoon by the British driver, specifically to validate their behaviour over a more representative mileage,” Pirelli said.
“A technical issue, however, kept Piastri’s car in the garage from the lunch break until almost the end of the session.”
Russell was able to continue on the W17, and set a 1:33.899s.
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