Norris and Piastri in action as next generation of wet weather tyres hit the track in first test of 2025

The first test this year aimed at development of the 2026 wet weather tyres has taken place at Paul Ricard, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri hitting the track for the opening day of running on Wednesday.

At the wheel of a McLaren MCL60, Piastri was initially unable to complete the planned number of laps owing to extremely cold conditions, with some areas of the track surface only reaching -2C.

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However, the programme was able to run as planned in the afternoon, meaning that the Australian completed the day’s programme with a total mileage of 120 laps and a best time of 1m 07.008s.

Piastri was in action for McLaren during Pirelli's 2026 wet weather tyre test at Paul Ricard

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Piastri was in action for McLaren during Pirelli’s 2026 wet weather tyre test at Paul Ricard

Lando Norris will take over for driving duties on Thursday as the focus will be on the testing of full wet and intermediate tyres for 2026. Rain is forecast for this day but it may still be the case that artificial sprinklers and water tankers are used, with these being used during Wednesday’s testing of both tyres.

While the 2026 tyres will retain the 18-inch diameter seen on the current generation of cars, the width and external diameter on both the front and rear axles will be slightly reduced.

This is not the first time that testing has taken place for the next generation of tyres, with a prototype for the 2026 tyres having first hit the track during testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in September.