(Motorsports news) Aston once again topped the mileage and times on Wednesday despite heavier rain in the morning. Vandoorne completed 53 laps with a best time of 1m57.631s, and Lando Norris finished his 40 laps in 2m00.628s. Vandoorne did not have the opportunity to dry run before the test, but it was still a great opportunity for him to familiarize himself with the AMR23 in case he had to step in as a reserve at any moment. It also enabled Vandoorne to correlate his simulator runs.
The Belgian had not driven an F1 car since the end of 2021, when he tested for Mercedes in Abu Dhabi. Only wet and intermediate tyres were utilized throughout the two-day session, which was also attended by McLaren. Pirelli didn’t test its no-blanket slick tires because of the bad weather. These tires won’t be used in 2024 as a result of a recent F1 Commission decision, and they might never be raced at all if Pirelli loses the F1 tyre supply contract to Bridgestone in 2025.
Because Pirelli rarely has the opportunity to test in wet circumstances at a current race location, it may have found greater benefit from the wet runs than from artificially sopping up Paul Ricard or Fiorano. Lance Stroll of Aston finished 70 laps on Tuesday with a best time of 1m57.697s, while Oscar Piastri of McLaren completed 47 laps with a best time of 2m00.682s.
“It was great to be back in an F1 car today driving the AMR23,” Vandoorne exclaimed. It’s been a while, and I had never driven an Aston Martin in green before. Despite the rain, it was still quite special to perform it at Spa for obvious reasons. In the morning, we ran on wet tires, then as the weather began to clear up in the afternoon, we did the program on intermediate tires. Even in these slick circumstances, the car felt terrific, and Vandoorne relished each lap.
Although the wet mileage was not the intended goal of the Spa test when it was arranged, Pirelli F1 boss Mario Isola said it was “very useful” for the Italian manufacturer. There was “no respite from the rain during these two days of testing at Spa,” stated, “just as there was over the Belgian GP weekend.”
“As a result, we were forced to focus on developing the intermediate and extreme wet tires on asphalt that varied significantly depending on the amount of surface water. “Despite the challenges, we were able to go about 1500 kilometers with Aston Martin and McLaren. It was a really helpful session that gave us the chance to gather crucial information for planning our testing schedule between now and the end of the year, which will clearly have a different focus as a result of the decisions made at the most recent F1 Commission meeting.
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