Click here <\/a>to see what it takes to build the Gold Coast street circuit <\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s useful,\u201d Piastri told Sky Sports F1.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think in a race weekend it\u2019s always going to be more useful. And obviously here as a circuit, we don\u2019t race at.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo with the current regulations, there\u2019s a lot of preparation that\u2019s very specific to each circuit. So there\u2019s definitely some things we can learn here.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut yes, unfortunately it\u2019s not quite the same as doing a race or a race weekend, but it\u2019s better than nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
With testing restrictions limiting set-up changes, the Australian highlighted the importance of simply logging mileage and refining smaller operational details.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s more just about getting laps in the car and checking our systems work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe obviously can\u2019t change anything in these kind of test days with Pirelli.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut even just kind of systems and small things like the comfort of the seats and just making sure all these things are as good as you can make it because you never really want to change those kind of things on a race weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd even just for me you still get a feeling for the car. We\u2019ve only done three race weekends, and in my case only one full race.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo just getting any laps at this point in these cars is useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
The test also offered an early glimpse into Pirelli\u2019s 2027 direction, with both drivers sampling evolving tyre concepts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think yes. Some of them have been a bit different,\u201d Piastri said when asked about testing the 2027 tyres.<\/p>\n
\u201cStill got plenty of things to test in terms of the tyre changes. And I\u2019m sure there\u2019ll be different tests and different versions throughout the year.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut yeah, obviously we\u2019re all trying to make as good a product as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Russell echoed the limited scope for performance-focused work during such outings, stressing the test\u2019s strict parameters when asked if it could help address Mercedes\u2019 starts, one of the team\u2019s few weaknesses despite winning every race so far in 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re here because it\u2019s a Pirelli test and a tyre test. We\u2019re not allowed to do any starts,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that\u2019s the same for every team whenever they do tyre testing.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Mercedes maximised track time, Russell underlined that the broader workload continued away from race weekends during Formula 1\u2019s April pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a huge amount going on behind the scenes, as I think in every sport, there\u2019s always a lot that goes on that people don\u2019t see,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously we have this opportunity to be testing today. We have another filming day later this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cLots of days on the simulator, analysing the first three races, looking ahead to the next couple that are coming up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both drivers also welcomed the chance to return to one of the sport\u2019s more traditional venues at the Nurburgring, with Piastri noting the circuit\u2019s unforgiving character.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very old school track,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s quite bumpy in a lot of places. The kerbs are very unique, especially the exit kerbs.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd, yeah, there\u2019s not really any margin for error anywhere. There\u2019s grass and gravel everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
Running continues for a second day at the Nurburgring on Wednesday, with McLaren set to field Lando Norris and Mercedes handing duties to championship leader Kimi Antonelli.<\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/296619.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oscar Piastri took to the track for a Pirelli test in Germany. Image: XPB Images The McLaren driver…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607731,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,813,816,3875,47804,2333,34524,9910,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-607730","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-f1","11":"tag-formula-1","12":"tag-formula1","13":"tag-george-russell","14":"tag-nurburgring","15":"tag-oscar-piastri","16":"tag-pirelli","17":"tag-slot2","18":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607730\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Piastri](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/XPB_1403126_HiRes.jpg\")