F1 cars roar again at the Nurburgring as team encounters issue

During the 2020 campaign, the last race at the Nurburgring was held, as the circuit replaced venues that were unable to host a Grand Prix weekend due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yesterday, Formula 1 cars returned to the German track, although not on the Nordschleife layout Verstappen will compete on this weekend.

On Tuesday, Mercedes and McLaren were in action, completing a Pirelli tyre test. After installation laps on the intermediates, George Russell and Oscar Piastri began using slick tyres.

They "completed several eight-lap runs in the first part of the programme, testing a number of construction variants on the C3 compound," the Italian manufacturer reported.

"The solutions considered most promising were then evaluated over longer distances late in the afternoon by the British driver, specifically to validate their behaviour over a more representative mileage. A technical issue, however, kept Piastri’s car in the garage from the lunch break until almost the end of the session." The nature of the issue is unknown.

Oscar Piastri completed a total of 65 laps (335 kilometres), setting a fastest lap time of 1:35.096, while George Russellcompleted 127 laps (654 kilometres) with a best time of 1:33.899. Testing will continue today in the German Eifel, providing valuable track time for the teams at such an early stage of the new regulations.

This weekend, Verstappen will compete at the ADAC 24h Nurburgring Qualifiers. This how the complete schedule looks like for the Dutchman and his teammate this weekend, Lucas Auer.