McLaren and Mercedes to Support Pirelli's Groundbreaking Bahrain Wet-Weather Testing Programme

In a landmark moment for tyre development in Formula 1, Pirelli is set to launch its first-ever dedicated wet-weather testing programme in Bahrain at the conclusion of February. The Italian supplier has secured the participation of two major teams—McLaren and Mercedes—who will each contribute a mule car to assist with the evaluation.

The initiative addresses a longstanding challenge for Pirelli, which has faced repeated calls from the paddock to enhance the performance characteristics of its intermediate and full wet weather tyre range. However, identifying suitable opportunities to conduct proper wet-weather testing has proven problematic for the manufacturer in recent years.

The traditional testing locations typically utilised by F1 teams present logistical constraints that have limited Pirelli's ability to systematically evaluate its wet compounds under genuine racing circumstances. The planned Bahrain test therefore represents a rare and valuable chance to gather comprehensive performance data on these critical tyre variants, potentially paving the way for meaningful improvements ahead of future seasons.