RacingModern Formula 1 machinery is back on the Nürburgring GP circuit for the first time since the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix, with Pirelli shifting a planned Saudi Arabia test to Germany and putting Mercedes and McLaren on track to start work on its 2027 tyres.
Pirelli began the two-day development test on April 14 after a session that had originally been scheduled for Saudi Arabia was moved. According to the source material, that change came after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was cancelled amid conflict in the Middle East. George Russell drove for Mercedes and Oscar Piastri ran for McLaren as the opening day got underway at the Nürburgring.
This is taking place on the Nürburgring Grand Prix circuit, not the Nordschleife. That matters because modern F1 cars had not run on the GP layout since Formula 1 last raced there at the Eifel Grand Prix during the 2020 season. So while this is only a tyre test, it still marks a return for current-era F1 machinery at a venue that has been absent from the championship calendar for years.
Mercedes and McLaren are Pirelli’s partner teams for the two days of running. According to the source material, Mercedes shared early updates from the day’s work with Russell first out on track. Piastri was McLaren’s first driver to run, and images of him driving the MCL40 at the circuit circulated online on Tuesday morning.
The job this week is straightforward. Pirelli is using the test to evaluate new compounds for the 2027 Formula 1 season, continuing a development program that has already involved other teams. According to the source material, Red Bull and Racing Bulls worked with Pirelli in recent weeks, and Ferrari has also taken part in separate tyre testing.
The Nürburgring switch also underlines how wider events have disrupted the usual F1 rhythm. The source material links the lack of April Grands Prix, and the loss of the Saudi event, to conflict in the Middle East. Even with that disruption, Formula 1 and Pirelli have kept the testing schedule moving by relocating this session and carrying on elsewhere.
For the Nürburgring itself, the headline is simple. Russell and Piastri put modern F1 cars back on the GP circuit, even if only in private testing, and Pirelli’s 2027 programme now has Mercedes and McLaren helping shape the next generation of tyres at a track Formula 1 has not raced at since 2020.