Monday pit stop #7
McLaren is a team with 182 wins in Formula 1, but last weekend the Woking-based squad made another piece of history by sealing its very first win in Formula E. A last-lap pass on Jaguar driver Mitch Evans gave Sam Bird victory in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which was also the very first for McLaren in Formula E after it entered the all-electric category in 2022.
In rallying, the Italian Rally Championship got underway with the stunning Rally del Ciocco through Tuscany. It was a Pirelli-filled podium at the end of the demanding asphalt event, with reigning champion Andrea Crugnola winning at the wheel of a Citroen. Another former champion, Giandomenico Basso, was second In his newly-acquired Toyota Yaris Rally 2, while Simone Campedelli was third in a Skoda: three different cars but the same P Zero tyres. Conditions were quite mixed during the Italian event, making it an even bigger challenge than usual on the fast and flowing mountain roads of the stunning Garfagnana region.
Last weekend was also the second round of the Austrian Rally Championship, the Rebenland Rally: another asphalt event, this time south of Graz. Simon Wagner won in a Skoda, ahead of two Pirelli-equipped drivers: Citroen's Luca Waldherr and the Skoda Fabia of the legendary Raimund Baumschlager. The irrepressible 64-year-old is a multiple Austrian champion, who has worked on several development projects with Pirelli over the years, including an all-electric rally car.
One more Pirelli win in rallying last weekend came courtesy of yet another multiple champion: Keith Cronin, who won the West Cork Rally in Ireland at the wheel of his Ford Fiesta Rally 2. In historic rallying, Angelo Lombardo used Pirelli's bespoke Collezione-derived tyres to win the Rally Costa Brava in Spain, the first round of the FIA European Historic Rally Championship, with his Porsche 911.
On track, the world-renowned Goodwood Festival of Speed held its annual media day at Lord March's famous racing circuit in England, attended by some of the most prominent journalists in the business as well as a variety of different car manufacturers: most of whom use Pirelli as original equipment.
These include a few names you might not expect, such as MG (now Chinese-owned), which took the opportunity to demonstrate the new Cyberster roadster: its latest electric sports car.
Back in Tuscany, the new Ferrari 499P Modificata made its debut in the hands of a customer at the Mugello circuit. This beautiful sports prototype is essentially a modified version of Ferrari's Le Mans-winning hypercar, which uses Pirelli P Zero tyres that have specifically been developed for it, utilising Formula 1 know-how throughout the design process.
The 499P Modificata showcases a lot of the technology that's seen on the actual race car, including all-wheel drive and a hybrid powertrain, which additionally features a ‘push to pass' button that boosts maximum power to 870 horsepower.
The new 499P Modificata is the star of Ferrari's recently-launched Sport Prototipi Client programme, joining the F1 Clienti and XX calendars, which allow clients to drive special cars homologated for track use in a non-competitive setting.
These include a number of past Formula 1 cars as well as dedicated development vehicles such as the Ferrari FXX-K Evo. The Sport Prototipi Clienti season runs alongside that of F1 Clienti and the XX programme, with events taking place in the USA and Japan as well as all around Europe. The final Sport Prototipi Clienti event is planned for the Ferrari Finali Mondiali at Imola in October.
