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Renault has confirmed that their reserve driver Sergey Sirotkin will be assigned to the 2021 development programme with Pirelli where the French team will use a 2018 car set up with 18-inch wheels to test the new tyres.
McLaren and Mercedes have both signed up to the project and are expected to have an additional two days of running towards the end of this season.
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"The plan is to run Sergey, he qualifies, he's got a good understanding of our car, he's got a recent understanding of Pirelli tyres and he's good at providing very exhaustive feedback," Renault said. "So he will be doing that for us."
All the 10 current F1 teams were offered the chance to take part in the test but most were reluctant to sign up due to the additional cost of developing a modified car. Renault was the first to sign up which prompted McLaren and then Mercedes to follow.
Ferrari said they did not have either the time or the resources and Red Bull did not have a suitable car as their 2018 car has a different engine supplier.
Cyril Abiteboul, the team principal of Renault was clear that the team were doing this with the intention of gaining as much knowledge as possible about the new tyre.
"It was a proposal offered by Pirelli to all teams, it was also a request from Pirelli and I think we have a duty to make sure Pirreli has the capacity to do a good job."
Grand Prix of Belgium
C. Sainz jr
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