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Pirelli planning tyre test with McLaren at Vallelunga

ESPN Staff
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McLaren has been picked for a private test before the end of the year © Getty Images
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Pirelli is waiting on FIA approval for a tyre test with McLaren at Vallelunga before the end of the season after plans to test ahead of the US Grand Prix fell through.

Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull have all tested with Pirelli at the Circuit de Catalunya this year to give the Italian tyre manufacturer more track time. Ferrari tested ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix with a 2011 car, Mercedes tested after the same race with a 2013 car and Red Bull were treated to a test ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix in a 2011 car.

Pirelli had hoped to test with McLaren using a 2011 car at the Circuit of Americas ahead of November's US Grand Prix, but did not receive approval from the FIA. The plan now is to test in mid November at Vallelunga, a track near Rome that was last used for an F1 test in 2006, to continue work on Pirelli's 2014 tyres.

"The FIA has not approved it yet, so it is subject to FIA authorisation," McLaren's Sam Michael confirmed.

"It's a Pirelli test, Pirelli has to get the authorisation and they have to tell all the teams they have the authorisation and then crack on."

Michael said it would not interrupt McLaren's end of season races as one of its test drivers would be behind the wheel of a car run by the team's heritage department.

"It'll be a test driver, it won't be a race driver," he added. "We'll use our heritage group to run an old car, a 2011 car that we use for demos as well. We might borrow one or two support staff, but we probably should be able to contain it within the heritage and the sport group. Again, it's subject to FIA authorisation."

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