Esteban Ocon and Stoffel Vandoorne profile for Spa
On July 30, Spa-Francorchamps welcomed Stoffel Vandoorne and Esteban Ocon for private testing on Pirelli tires to analyze various compounds for Formula 1. The times recorded were slightly faster than those of the Grand Prix, also highlighting the skills of both drivers.
The day before yesterday, on July 30, the Spa-Francorchamps circuit hosted Stoffel Vandoorne and Esteban Ocon for private tests on Pirelli tires. Conducted by the brand itself, these tests provided the manufacturer with the opportunity to analyze several tire compounds for Formula 1.
Chronos faster than fast.
The announcement of these tests had been made a few days earlier in the week. Scheduled over two days, it was Esteban Ocon and Stoffel Vandoorne who participated on Tuesday. Esteban Ocon, currently a full-time Formula 1 driver, took the wheel of the Alpine A524, while Stoffel Vandoorne, reserve driver for Aston Martin, was at the controls of the Aston Martin AMR24. The two cars are currently used in the 2024 championship.
The first day of testing took place under a clear sky with a track temperature around 50°C, which is not ideal for evaluating tire degradation. These tests also highlighted the skills of the two drivers at this time of the year. As a reminder, unlike the French Alpine driver, Stoffel Vandoorne is not competing in any discipline this season. However, he posted a good time on the track. With Esteban Ocon and Stoffel Vandoorne each completing more than 90 laps, the French driver did 97 laps with a best time of 1:44.445, while the Belgian driver completed 92 laps with a best time of 1:45.561. There was only a 1-second difference between the two drivers.
These times are slightly faster than the best laps achieved during the Spa-Francorchamps race, where the drivers had recorded lap times around 1’45. Sergio Perez had set the fastest lap in 1:44.701, a result slightly slower than Esteban Ocon’s record two days ago.
The main objective of these tests was especially to collect technical data in order to improve the performance and durability of tires in the future. As specified by Aston Martin, the teams are not informed of the tires they have driven with. While the track conditions were not ideal, these tests will still allow Pirelli to gather data in the particular conditions of the circuit in recent days. This also allowed Aston Martin to evaluate its reserve driver after he had been sidelined for a long time.
