McLaren and Mercedes have been in action at the Nurburgring, tyre testing for Pirelli.

Tuesday, the first day of the test programme, got under way with a few installation laps on Intermediate as rain had fallen throughout the night, leaving the track wet, despite a shy sun appearing later in the morning.

The drivers therefore waited for track conditions to improve before starting the programme originally planned on slick.

Oscar Piastri was at the wheel for McLaren and George Russell for Mercedes, both completing several eight-lap runs as the first part of the programme, running a number of construction variants on the C3 compound.

The solutions considered most promising were then evaluated over longer distances late in the afternoon by the Russell, specifically to validate their behaviour over a more representative mileage.

However, a technical issue kept Piastri's car in the garage after the lunch break until almost the end of the session.

Track temperatures reached 37 degrees C in the areas exposed to sunlight, while ambient temperatures never rose above 15 degrees.

Piastri set a best time of 1:35.'096, while Russell stopped the clock at 1:33.899. The former completed 65 laps, the latter 127.

Today, championship leader Kimi Antonelli and reigning world champion Lando Norris were in action, as track temperatures averaged 26°C, and the air temperature hovered around 14 degrees.

In the first phase of the programme, the two drivers continued the work initiated by their team-mates on the different construction variants of the C3 compound, completing several runs of eight laps each.

In the final hours of the day the two softer compounds were also evaluated, with longer runs, Antonelli running the C4, while the C5 was fitted to Norris's car.

The British driver completed a total of 108 laps, while the Italian covered 109. The best lap times of the day were 1:33.640 for the Norris driver and a 1:32.'990 for the Mercedes driver.

A total of 1,308 miles (2,106 kilometres) were covered over the two days at the Eifel circuit.

"This test was a very productive two days for us," said Norris. "The aim was to help Pirelli with their tyre development for the future, and we provided as much detailed feedback as we could. It's been a while since we've driven here at the Nürburgring, so it's great to get back out on track. I've driven here in pretty much every category, so it's cool to be able to drive it in this era of Formula 1 cars.

"After lacking some track time at the start of the season, it was good to get back behind the wheel again. Sessions like this, even if they aren't for testing our own upgrades, provide learning opportunities which are useful as we look to push forward this season. Time to regroup at home now and get ready for Miami."

"It was good to get back in the car during this break, with the focus on helping Pirelli gather information on these tyres," added Piastri. "Overall, it was a useful day. We can't make any changes in these tests, but it's always good to get the opportunity to make sure all systems work and to get a better understanding of the car, especially with the new regulations.

"We obviously don't race here, but it's still nice to experience such a unique circuit again. The Nürburgring is an old-school track with the kerbs and run-offs, which makes it more rewarding when you get things right. We'll spend a bit of time back in Woking now as we prepare to go racing again in Miami."

The next development test is scheduled for mid-May at Magny-Cours, where wet-weather tyres will be evaluated. The slick compounds for next season will return to the track at Barcelona, following the Grand Prix weekend.

Elsewhere, Franco Colapinto was in action at Silverstone, where Alpine completed its second (200 km) filming day of the year.