Mario Isola, Head of Pirelli Motorsport, has taken stock of the tyre compounds used so far during Formula 1’s closed-door shakedown at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. According to Isola, expectations have been met to this point, even if further confirmation will be required during the upcoming Bahrain tests.
During the private shakedown currently taking place at the Montmeló circuit in Barcelona, attention has been almost entirely focused on the new 2026 Formula 1 cars. However, it is important to remember that the technical revolution introduced by the F1 paddock does not concern only the cars themselves, but also the tyres.
Pirelli has in fact produced tyres that are slightly smaller and narrower in size. While not a drastic change, it is still a development of considerable importance, adding yet another new variable to the already extensive list of technical and aerodynamic changes affecting the 2026 single-seaters.
Until just a few days ago, Pirelli had only been able to test the new tyres on mule cars. These are specially prepared vehicles built by the teams to recreate the weight, aerodynamic load and mechanical characteristics that the tyres are expected to withstand from this season onward. However, there is a clear difference between working with a prototype-style car and running a fully developed single-seater designed specifically around the new regulations that came into force on 1 January this year.
Mario Isola, Director of Pirelli Motorsport, has now provided an initial overview of the new tyre compounds for the 2026 Formula 1 season, and the picture is decidedly reassuring. The tyres have met the expectations set at the start of the year, which is no small achievement given the scale of the regulatory changes.
“I think things are quite positive,” Isola said. “We have confirmed what we found during the tests carried out here last year. Obviously, last year we tested with the old cars, while this year we are running with the new ones. And I am happy to see the balance, the performance and the characteristics of the new tyres confirmed. These are in line with last year’s tyres, and that is a good thing, because that is exactly what Formula 1 asked of us. We are only at the beginning, and we will have to confirm everything during the Bahrain tests, but for now we are quite satisfied.”
So far, the teams have mainly been focused on evaluating their respective cars rather than fully understanding tyre behaviour. Nevertheless, the large number of laps completed at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has allowed Pirelli to collect valuable data in both dry and wet conditions.
“At the moment, the teams have been working mainly on the power unit side and on car balance,” Isola explained. “They have not spent much time trying to understand the tyres. They used all three compounds that we brought for these tests, namely the C1, the C2 and the C3, which are the hardest in our range. They worked well. Obviously, there were some warm-up difficulties with the C1, while the C3s were perfect for the conditions the teams found over these days.”
The Soft tyres – which at Montmeló correspond to the C3 compound – showed some graining on the front-left tyre. This was not unexpected, given that this tyre is typically the most heavily stressed during a lap, particularly in cold track conditions.
“On the C3s we saw a bit of graining forming on the front-left, but that is normal at Montmeló, because it is the tyre that is put under the most stress, especially when it is cold. We knew it could happen,” Isola said.
Wet-weather tyres were also part of the programme, with teams running both Intermediate and Full Wet tyres during rainy conditions earlier in the week.
“As far as the wet tyres are concerned, it was important to see the teams running in the rain and using both the Intermediates and the Full Wets,” Isola added. “We have always struggled to find time to test them properly, but the data collected on Tuesday was very useful. It was important to test them with the new cars and also to confirm the compounds.”
“We do not yet have a completely clear picture of the delta between the two wet tyres, but it seems to be quite in line with our expectations. That is another confirmation. So, these are small pieces that are falling into place and helping to make the overall picture clearer,” concluded the Head of Pirelli Motorsport.
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