The Wait is Over, F1 Tests are Here
Here we go, Formula 1 is about to return. From tomorrow until Friday, the Bahrain track will provide the first insights into the 2025 hierarchy and the first timid (but crucial) indications ahead of Melbourne.
The F1 tests will also be an opportunity to test the tires for the upcoming season. The big news will be the debut of the C6 (to be used on city circuits and those generally less demanding on the tire), but Pirelli has slightly modified the other compounds to make them more suited to the higher aerodynamic loads generated by the cars at the end of the technical cycle. For the F1 tests, each team has been allowed to select up to 35 sets of tires, with 30 being actually mounted for on-track use.
Tire Selection Table
Here are the choices made by all the teams.
| No. C1 | No. C2 | No. C3 | No. C4 | No. C5 | No. C6 | No. intermediate | No. wet | Total | |
| McLaren | 5 | 9 | 20 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 35 |
| Ferrari | 3 | 4 | 21 | 5 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 35 |
| Red Bull | 2 | 11 | 20 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 35 |
| Mercedes | 2 | 2 | 27 | 4 | – | – | – | – | 35 |
| Aston Martin | 8 | 4 | 20 | – | – | – | 3 | – | 35 |
| Alpine | 6 | 6 | 23 | – | – | – | – | – | 35 |
| Haas | 5 | 6 | 18 | 4 | – | – | 1 | 1 | 35 |
| RB | 4 | 4 | 23 | 4 | – | – | – | – | 35 |
| Williams | 4 | 12 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 35 |
| Kick Sauber | 4 | 8 | 20 | 3 | – | – | – | – | 35 |
As seen, the C3 was clearly the most favored compound: being one of the middle compounds, it will almost certainly be used in many Grands Prix. However, not all of them: especially in city races, Pirelli might choose the trio C4-C5-C6. Ferrari and Williams selected all six compounds, while Aston Martin and Haas preferred not to take any risks, also opting for wet-weather tires. However, according to Meteo France, the chance of rain is zero.
To identify the tires starting tomorrow, the C1 will have the Pirelli and P Zero markings in white but without parentheses; the C2 will have the markings and parentheses in white; the C3 will have the markings in yellow but without parentheses; the C4 will have the markings and parentheses in yellow; the C5 will have the markings in red but without parentheses; the C6 will have the markings and parentheses in red. Intermediate and wet-weather tires will retain their classic colors, green and blue, respectively.
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