The Latest Breaking News from Pirelli

The Barcelona running is significant because Pirelli only has one more session with its 2024 tyres – after the British Grand Prix at Silverstone with Red Bull among those taking part – before the FIA makes a final call on whether to push ahead with the original plan to run…

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.

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.

With drivers forced to use the hard (Q1), medium (Q2) and soft (Q3) compounds in the three sessions on Saturday, rather than having complete free choice, it could serve to shake things up in terms of the fight for grid positions. 

Pirelli's tyres have been on the cautious side in recent seasons, responding to the sport's fastest generation of cars with more durable compounds that offer less grip but also don't fall off a performance cliff like its early offerings did.