A new era of Formula 1 was ushered in on Thursday as Sergey Sirotkin tested 18-inch Pirelli tyres on a Renault F1 car, giving us the first look of what the rubber will look like when it's adopted in 2021.

Renault reserve driver Sirotkin, was behind the wheel of a specially configured 'mule' car on day one of a two-day test at Paul Ricard. The Russian was sharing the track with future Renault driver Esteban Ocon, who is conducting 2020 tyre testing for Pirelli in a Mercedes.

Pirelli’s Head of F1 and Car Racing, Mario Isola, said that he didn’t have a “clear idea what to expect” ahead of the 2021 tyre test, which follows a demonstration run of Pirelli's 18-inch tyres on a Formula 2 car in Monza, which are set to be adopted by the junior series in 2020.