Scuderia Ferrari reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi signed off on a successful day of wet tyre testing for Pirelli on Thursday as he completed 124 laps behind the wheel of Ferrari’s SF71-H. It marked the first time the Italian driver has driven Ferrari’s latest car after the team gave him and development driver Daniil Kvyat the nod for the test, conducted by Pirelli at Ferrari’s Fiorano track.
Under current regulations, official tyre supplier Pirelli is permitted up to 25 days of running per season in order to develop its tyres for future campaigns. The running is split between all ten F1 current teams, who supply current-year cars, with action taking place at various venues across the year. Teams are not permitted to run any upgrades, whilst data from the test is shared between all ten teams.
Pirelli’s programme focussed on the Intermediate tyre, with the track artificially watered throughout the day, with warm and sunny weather prevailing. A Pirelli spokesperson told Motorsport Week that everything was “achieved as planned”.
Daniil Kvyat is due to take over duties on Friday and is expected to run the full wet tyre. It will mark the Russian’s first time in Ferrari’s current-spec car, having joined the operation in the wake of his departure from Red Bull. Daniil Kvyat started 72 Grands Prix for Red Bull and Toro Rosso between 2014 and 2017, scoring two podium finishes.
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