Mercedes and McLaren will run a two-day Pirelli tire test at the Nurburgring on April 14-15. The outing will bring current-era F1 cars back to the circuit for the first time since the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix.

Pirelli describes the sessions as a technical tire program and the test has been promoted informally as a “Spring Break” Mercedes test. One report named Mercedes drivers as George Russell and Kimi Antonelli and McLaren drivers as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, split across the two days; another source said drivers had not been confirmed, though both teams are expected to divide duties across the test days.

The sessions will run on the Nurburgring’s GP layout and are scheduled as non-competitive tire work to provide data for Pirelli’s development program. Several sources said the work will focus on dry compounds after recent Pirelli running at Suzuka, but Pirelli has not formally confirmed whether sessions will target wet or dry tires and can artificially wet the surface if required. The GP layout’s 17 corners, large run-off areas and advanced monitoring make the track well suited to precise data gathering as teams evaluate tire behavior, car setup and long-run performance to inform future compounds and construction.

The Nurburgring outing replaces a planned pre-season wet trial in Bahrain and fills on-track time lost after the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix and the Bahrain test were canceled. Reports linked those cancellations to missile strikes tied to the US and Israel offensive on Iran. Organizers and supporters hope the return of top-level cars will strengthen calls to reinstate the Nurburgring on the official F1 calendar, and the work will give drivers preparation ahead of the championship resuming at the Miami Grand Prix on May 3.

Sources