Liam Lawson had an opportunity to stretch his legs on Wednesday ahead of his return to the F1 grid next week in Austin.
The Kiwi who has replaced Daniel Ricciardo at Visa Cash App RB for the final six races of the season, and whose upcoming performances – if impressive – could earn him a seat with Red Bull Racing for 2025, was assigned by the latter to a Pirelli tyre test that took place at the Mugello Circuit this week.
Rain disrupted the tyre supplier’s programme on Tuesday, but the three teams involved in the test were able to resume their development work on Wednesday.
While Red Bull and Ferrari sampled Pirelli’s 2025 compounds, McLaren devoted its session, conducted with a mule car, to the Italian supplier’s prototype 2026 rubber.
Lawson completed 116 laps over the course of the day, sharing the track with Lando Norris (118 laps), Charles Leclerc (79 laps) and Carlos Sainz (77 laps).
Lawson's session not only delivered important data for Pirelli but also gave the newly promoted driver a chance to refamiliarize himself with F1 machinery before next week's US Grand Prix at The Circuit of The Americas.
