Mercedes gets first taste of Pirelli's 2017 tyres

Pirelli's testing of its 2017-size tyres continued on Tuesday, with Mercedes becoming the third team after Ferrari and Red Bull to sample next year’s wider compounds at Paul Ricard.

Driving a modified version of the 2015 title-winning W06, Manor rookie Pascal Wehrlein will continue to lap around the former French Grand Prix venue on Wednesday and Thurday.

Meanwhile, Ferrari, which had kicked off Pirelli’s preparations last month with two days of wet testing at its private track of Fiorano, ran at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. While Sebastian Vettel and Haas’ Esteban Gutierrez had been called up, this time it was Kimi Raikkonen’s turn to enjoy his first taste of the 2017-spec tyres.

Next season will see wider tyres introduced, with the dimensions increasing from 245mm to 305mm at the front and from 325mm to 405mm at the rear.

Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull, which started its own programme with Sébastien Buemi at Mugello in August, all supply modified cars to help Pirelli gather valuable information and data ahead of the 2017 season.

More testing sessions are scheduled at Abu Dhabi later this year, with a final three-day test for all three teams starting on November 29.

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