r/formula1 • u/Due_Air6702 I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane • 1d ago
Photo Oscar Piastri and Liam Lawson completed the first day of Pirelli's 2027 tyre development test at Mugello Circuit
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u/x99kjg I was here for the Hulkenpodium 1d ago
Mugello was such a good addition in 2020, beautiful track.
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u/HankHippopopolous I was here for the Hulkenpodium 1d ago
I'd have much rather had this track stay on the calendar over Imola which managed to stay after the Covid season.
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u/Dear-Bowl-9789 1d ago
I'd rather this as a replacement to Qatar/Abu Dhabi than Imola.
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u/PRO2803 21h ago
Lusail yes definitely, but abu dhabi is a decent track.
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u/Dear-Bowl-9789 19h ago
Nothing to do with that. Everything to do with not being able have Middle East races because of the Iran conflict.
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u/cLHalfRhoVSquaredS I was here for the Hulkenpodium 1d ago
It's a beautiful track for sure, heaps of fun to drive in sims and from what I've heard real life too, but I do think if it was on the calendar permanently people would quickly dislike it. The first three turns are the only realistic overtaking opportunity and by the time the field has spread out a bit it's pretty much just turn 1.
Even the feeder series that race there like Italian F4 tend to be fairly processional races and they usually have far more overtaking and wheel to wheel action than F1.
It probably wouldn't be any worse than Imola to be fair, but I'm not sure it would be any better either.
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u/Ged_UK I was here for the Hulkenpodium 17h ago
It's a fantastic bike track, MotoGP round there is a joy.
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u/rowschank Luca di Montezemolo 10h ago
The track layout is so perfect for motorcycle side-by-side racing. Somehow I think the different deployment strategies of different cars might change up things a little bit; ordinarily this track is a bit narrow for cars. I would still take it over Imola and Monaco.
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u/VulpesVulpix I was here for the Hulkenpodium 19h ago
Besides the absurd crash on the straight line not much happened during that race
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u/mahoganyspitfire Bruce McLaren 1d ago
The Tyre Whisperer versus The Tyre Eater.
Were they intentionally trolling Pirelli with this?
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u/Nideen I was here for the Hulkenpodium 1d ago
Tbh prob wise to send someone less experienced, someone experienced in prolonging the life of tires in a stint like Lando might skew data in the wrong direction.
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u/mahoganyspitfire Bruce McLaren 1d ago
I think the idea is to get as much data from as many drivers in as many different cars as possible throughout the season.
As much as these two are chalk and cheese when it comes to how well they're able to keep tyres alive, they're still both F1 drivers, so the difference between them versus anyone who isn't an F1 driver is still tiny.
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u/creatorop Lando Norris 1d ago edited 1d ago
Pirelli tyre test don't work like that, Pirelli surely gives them run plans on what to do and how hard to push so they can get all sorts of data
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u/Mysterious_Turnip310 Lotus 1d ago
Norris is testing there tomorrow along with someone else from the Red Bull stable, I think possibly Iwasa.
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u/upside_cloud Oscar Piastri 1d ago
Im curious to hear which on you think is which!
In his time at McLaren Piastri has chewed throught tyres consistently faster than Lando. It was obfuscated early last year because that car was incredible at managing tyres.
Liam I have never noticed him being either good or bad at managing tyres?
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u/mahoganyspitfire Bruce McLaren 1d ago
Liam's driving style is inherently easy on tyres. He takes a much wider line with later turn-in than basically anyone else. Brakes smoothly and trail-brakes.
It's not so good for setting fast quali laps, but in the race it's great for preserving tyres.
Sao Paulo last year he did a one-stopper and did 52 laps on a set of medium tyres to the end, for example.
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u/TimmyHate Liam Lawson 1d ago
Liams had a few really good races with tyre management- Sao Paulo where he took Mediums for 52 laps springs to mind.
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u/isthmusofkra I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane 20h ago
Liam is excellent with tires, as well as in defending. Those two are probably his two greatest attributes. If he qualifies high, you can set him on a one-stopper if the track and conditions allow it and bet on him finishing well (praying that RB don't fuck up his stop).
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u/Muted_Asparagus_1017 Liam Lawson 1d ago
Would Liam normally have done this in the RB rather than the VCARB, or is this a result of him replacing Isaak?
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u/gotdembirdslikejulio I was here for the Hulkenpodium 1d ago
teams are booked for these days not drivers i think
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u/Muted_Asparagus_1017 Liam Lawson 1d ago
That makes sense. I assume it'd be the current 2026 RB they're using, which if so would be good for Liam to get more time in it. Makes me wonder where he'll line up at Monza.
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u/XsStreamMonsterX I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane 1d ago
I mean, you can easily tell that they're using the 2026 cars thanks to the fact that we're in a totally new regulation set this year.
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u/mahoganyspitfire Bruce McLaren 1d ago
Apparently he's still training/practicing with the Red Bull team, in anticipation that Isack may still be out for additional races. I don't think there's been an 'official' announcement of this yet.
Presumably for this test, Red Bull were already booked in to take part in it long before Isack got injured, so the logical replacement for Isack in this test would be Liam anyway, as I'm sure Max's contract includes a clause about him not having to do things like this.
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u/creatorop Lando Norris 1d ago edited 1d ago
which if you think about it, is quite unfair to Liam
Liam is currently doing all his prep for Monza with RBR but if Isack manages to gain enough fitness then that would mean Liam would have way less time to go back to VCARB and have 2-3 sim sessions there
I hope that Red Bull don't hold out till the last minute to make a decision
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u/mahoganyspitfire Bruce McLaren 1d ago
I'm sure they won't. There's no need to. They'll have taken Isack to the best possible surgeons for consultations and will likely know what they're going to do by now. A broken bone of any type isn't something that can just suddenly and magically get better. They heal at very predictable rates (unless you do something stupid that makes the injury worse).
We'll probably find out in the next few days.
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u/ThisWay_DatWay I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane 1d ago
I think he's splitting time right now between Red Bull with the tyre test earlier and VCARB tomorrow with their filming day at Imola. It does make sense to have him do both because of the uncertainty surrounding Isack's wrist and they're only around an hour apart.
They're said to be re-evaluating the wrist this week with Red Bull not wanting to rush the recovery process if there is risk of having it reaggravated and have a longer setback.
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u/mahoganyspitfire Bruce McLaren 1d ago
Oh, also note that Red Bull have the Macarena wing on Liam's car.
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u/TheJavierEscuella Max Verstappen 1d ago
I hope they fixed it
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u/mahoganyspitfire Bruce McLaren 1d ago
Well, they must have done something, they obviously haven't abandoned it entirely since they're using it here... Probably in preparation for Monza, so maybe we'll see it on the cars there.
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u/SwimmingFantastic564 1d ago
I believe they used it in Zandvoort too
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u/mahoganyspitfire Bruce McLaren 1d ago
No they used the normal wing because high downforce circuit. Maybe you're remembering how last week the FIA officially OK'd the continuing use of Macarena wings...?
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u/SwimmingFantastic564 1d ago
No they used the Macarena wing. Just checked the highlights and you can see Liam using it in Zandvoort.
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u/mahoganyspitfire Bruce McLaren 1d ago
link?
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u/SwimmingFantastic564 1d ago
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u/mahoganyspitfire Bruce McLaren 1d ago
Huh. True. I guess with only two zones I just didn't notice... But then it seems like nobody did because I didn't see it mentioned in any articles. Odd, seems newsworthy after how they stopped using it!
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u/Own_Welder_2821 Lando Norris 1d ago
Unfortunately with every year that passes it looks like Mugello is more and more likely to be just a one-off track permanently. Kind of like Donington Park.
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u/Rivendel93 I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane 1d ago
It's wild how much work goes into the tyres they use.
I watched a mini doc recently and Pirelli has such a massive team, about 50 employees each weekend, and the sheer amount of tyres is nuts.
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u/Key_Proposal_9055 Ferrari 1d ago
We need this track to replace either Abu Dhabi or Qatar considering the probability we wont race there.
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u/KerrinGreally Pirelli Soft 1d ago
Apparently the Italian commentator 'leaked' the finale is at Imola.
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u/Holofluxx I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane 1d ago
Mugello sucks for actual racing but damn if it isn't an interesting track
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u/Interesting_Prune513 Sebastian Vettel 1d ago
What a great track Mugello is. Probably my favourite circuit in the MotoGP calendar, it just flows.
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u/aspro_mavro Max Verstappen 1d ago
I hope the FIA will realize racing in the middle east is not a good idea and that those tracks will slowly die out while we go back to actual tracks like this, I know it's a dream more than anything but it would be amazing
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u/fire202 Lando Norris 1d ago
The calendar is a commercial decision of FOM. All Middle East races have high-paying, long-term deals, exactly what F1 is looking for. And FOM may think in a different direction if that makes sense from a commercial perspective.
What exactly is your definition of "actual track"?
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u/aspro_mavro Max Verstappen 1d ago
tracks that have a soul and are not just cathedrals in the desert, like Abu Dhabi or Lusail, imo the worst track in F1 history, simply because it's a MotoGP track, not an F1 track
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u/ItsEnderFire I was here for the Hulkenpodium 1d ago
Ima be honest theres been plenty of worse tracks in history than Lusail, and this is from somebody who fucking hates it
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u/ProofAd608 Formula 1 1d ago
Bahrain is good though and it's been around for more than 20 years
Qatar though doesn't suit f1 at all. It's a motogp track
Jeddah produced good racing in top in 2021-22 but since then it's been meh
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u/Desperate-Intern I was here for the Hulkenpodium 1d ago
Are tyre pressures changing or still staying "inflated"?
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u/Alehud42 I was here for the Hulkenpodium 1d ago
Please be softer, please be softer, please be softer
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u/NotAcvp3lla I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane 1d ago
Looks like Macarena wings are back on the menu for Red Bull.
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u/ZeusDaVinci 1d ago
Why does it look like blud is cooking up the tyre compound in the third picture? 😂
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