Pirelli on shorter F1 races: softer tyres would be essential to keep strategies unpredictable

Pirelli on shorter F1 races: softer tyres would be essential to keep strategies unpredictable. Stefano Domenicali opened the debate about shorter F1 races.

After Stefano Domenicali raised the idea of shortening Formula 1 races, Simone Berra, F1 chief engineer at Pirelli, explained that such a move would require much softer tyre compounds in order to maintain strategic uncertainty despite the reduced race distance.The interview with Stefano Domenicali triggered widespread reactions not only among fans but also within the Formula 1 paddock. One of the most debated points was the suggestion of reducing the length of Grands Prix. According to the Formula 1 president and CEO, younger audiences would prefer shorter races compared to the current format. Data from F1’s own channels, which show the popularity of race highlight clips, would support this claim.

“There is also the question of race length: we believe that for young people it may be a little too long,” said the former Lamborghini chairman. “We are seeing on many of our channels that highlight clips are extremely successful.”

He added: “Perhaps for those of us who grew up with this format everything is fine as it is, but there is a large part of the audience that only wants to watch the highlights. Right now everything is going very well, but for this very reason we must not rest on our laurels and instead think about the next steps to take.”

In a period where Formula 1 is working hard to make racing less predictable—through changes in aerodynamics and tyre behaviour designed to encourage more overtaking and strategic variety—the idea of cutting Sunday race mileage may sound counterintuitive. Shorter races would mean tyres would need to be made much more aggressive, likely far softer than current compounds, to push teams beyond single-stop strategies. The result would be shorter Grands Prix, but packed with more action, including additional pit stops.

“If Sunday’s Grands Prix were shortened, teams would adopt a less conservative approach, that much is clear,” said Simone Berra, Pirelli’s chief engineer, speaking at Monza.

Berra explained that reducing race length would force Pirelli, as Formula 1’s exclusive tyre supplier, to drastically alter its compounds. Tyres would need to be made significantly softer to ensure multiple pit stops and preserve a degree of unpredictability that keeps results from becoming too straightforward.

“Probably the best relationship would be to move to softer tyres in order to, let’s say, have more pit stops. It’s a different scenario compared to what we have now,” he said.

“It would be interesting to simulate what the outcome of this situation would be if it went ahead. But if we kept the current range of compounds in races lasting around an hour, we would almost certainly see only one-stop strategies everywhere. So yes, it would be necessary to design softer compounds.”