According to Motorsport.com, Fernando Alonso will be taking part in a two-day Pirelli tyre test on February 7-8, as Aston Martin push to get the double World Champion up-to-speed with the team.
Whilst the test will be conducted using the 2022 cars, it will still give Alonso an excellent opportunity to work closely with his team before pre-season testing begins, when the 2023 challengers will be used.
The test is set to take part at Jerez, Spain, with Mercedes and AlphaTauri also pencilled in to take part in the test for the Italian tyre manufacturer.
Pirelli’s chief F1 engineer Simone Berra has revealed what the manufacturer are going to be “mainly” working on during the tyre test with the teams that were available to participate.
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“There will be some tests, not with all the teams,” said Berra.
“We asked the availability to them, and some of them replied.
“We will work mainly on the intermediate and wets, because for us it’s the best period of the year to test in cold temperatures and in representative conditions.
“And then we will have even a couple of tests for the slicks for the new specification for 2024.”
It has been stressed by Pirelli’s motorsport director Mario Isola that the test is not a place for the teams to develop parts for the upcoming season, with the FIA set to be present at the test to ensure that the only parts used are those that featured last season.
“They cannot use the tests in February to develop the 2023 car,” Isola said.
“The FIA is sending an observer to each test to check parts and that the configuration of the car has been used at any of the 2022 races so they cannot develop new parts, wings, floors, or something like that.”
With this in mind, it does mean Mercedes will have to use the ‘diva’ W13 to conduct the test, with their 2022 challenger seemingly being one that just won’t disappear.
Alonso will likely be pleased to be driving Aston Martin’s AMR22 once again, with the Spaniard having been impressed by it after driving it at the post-season test in Abu Dhabi last year.
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“I’m much more optimistic now,” Alonso told PlanetF1.com after his first day with Aston Martin at the 2022 post-season test.
“When I signed for Aston Martin [in July], I was 90% happy. When they started improving and finishing the season on a high, I was 100 percent.
“This morning, I was 100 percent, now I’m 100+!”