Following previous sessions at Le Castellet in January and Barcelona last week, this test focused on evaluating different constructions and compounds, with teams running variations from C2 to C4.

The tyres maintain the current 18-inch diameter but will be slightly narrower, with a reduction of 25 millimetres at the front and 30 at the rear.

The first day of testing saw Alpine and McLaren take to the track with their mule cars, adapted from their 2023 machines to accommodate the new tyres. Patricio O’Ward, stepping in for McLaren, completed an extensive 153 laps in the MCL60 mule car, posting a fastest time of 1’19’’484. Pierre Gasly, behind the wheel of the Alpine A523, logged 157 laps, with his best effort at 1’18’’092. As with previous tests, outright lap times were not significant, as each team followed its own testing programme, focused on gathering data rather than performance.

On the second day, McLaren made way for Mercedes, with George Russell joining the test alongside Alpine’s Jack Doohan. Russell drove a modified version of last season’s W15, completing 135 laps and setting a best time of 1’17’’976. Doohan, in the Alpine, completed 113 laps with a fastest time of 1’17’’255. Again, the times were largely inconsequential, as each driver ran different setups and test conditions tailored to Pirelli’s development objectives.

Over the course of the two days, a total of 558 laps were completed between the three teams, with Alpine covering both days and McLaren and Mercedes splitting the workload.

At the conclusion of the test, Pirelli’s Director of Motorsport, Mario Isola, expressed his satisfaction with the progress made across the three sessions so far.

“Yet another good test in the early days of 2025, thanks to the vital collaboration of the three teams involved,” he commented.

“In addition to the data gathered in Paul Ricard and the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit, we now have a great deal of very important information from the Jerez circuit.

“Even though it has not featured on the championship calendar for many years now, it is still an interesting test bench, partly down to the good weather it enjoys at this time of year.

“Now we still have one more test session prior to the start of the 2025 season, to bring to an end this initial and crucial phase of working on track.

“The information gathered so far will allow us to direct our development in an ever more precise fashion for the coming tests.”

With one more session remaining before the 2025 season gets underway, the focus now shifts to Bahrain, where Alpine and Williams will take part in the final pre-season tyre test on March 2–3.