Mario Isola expands on difficulties with F1 2026 tyres due to it being a bit more narrow, as he notes any changes during the season will not happen before five races.
The tyres in F1 2026 will remain the 18-inches as been used in the previous regulation, but there is reduction of 25mm at the front and 30mm at the rear for tread with. At the same time, the overall diameter will see a reduction of 15mm at the front and 10mm at the rear.
This has made life tougher for Pirelli, as Isola explains. The new aero package is another aspect which the Italian manufacturer has had to be aligned to, without compromising the construction and strength of the tyres. They had to diminish the increasing level of overheating as well.
“We had to redesign completely the tyre with a new profile, optimising the footprint,” said Isola. “Obviously, because of the new aero package, we expect higher speeds on the straight, but at the same level of load – or similar – in cornering. That means that overheating could be an issue. We have worked to try to minimise the overheating, that we know drivers don’t like that, while keeping some thermal degradation.
“So the targets were clear, but obviously on a smaller size, it’s a little bit more difficult unless you don’t penalise the performance quite a lot. That is not the target, obviously,” summed up Isola, who affirmed that they have about 40 days of testing planned in 2026 to further fine tune the tyres after it has been used in pre-season testing and handful of races.
Isola notes that they cannot change anything on the tyres for the first five races at least, as they have already completed the allocation and production. Any changes to keep safety in mind, can only happen post the first few races, after collecting data from pre-season testing and racing.
“In 2026, we have the usual plan of 40 days with all the teams,” continued Isola. “The plan has already been defined and shared with the teams. The point is that for sure we cannot change the allocation for the first five races. We are producing the tyres for all the pre-season tests.
“The logistics is a nightmare also for us because we had to start the production as soon as possible to supply the tyres to the pre-season test – which is not only three days, but nine – plus the first five races that are overseas. So, the allocation has been defined already. But depending on the results of the first five races, we can change in the second part of the year. If we want to go a bit harder or softer, we have at least flexibility,” summed up Isola.
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