Here’s the C6
Pirelli is looking ahead and preparing for the 2025 season. While tire development tests for next season have been ongoing throughout the year (Mercedes tested on October 3, while Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren, the latter testing for 2026— are scheduled for today and tomorrow), the Milan-based company will soon bring the results of this collaboration with the teams to the track. According to Auto Motor und Sport, the second free practice session in Mexico City will last 90 minutes to allow teams to gather feedback on the “proto” C6 tire, which is valid for a good number of the street circuits on the calendar. This is a logical choice, as selecting Austin would have been impossible due to the Sprint format.
Pirelli’s goal is to give teams the opportunity to choose different strategies and bring more excitement to races that otherwise risk being dull, as was the case in the last Singapore Grand Prix.
Not just 2025
Pirelli is naturally working on two fronts. On one side, 2025, which is already “locked in” at least in terms of design development, and on the other, 2026, which presents a challenging task with new regulations regarding both engines and car philosophy, which will consequently place different loads on the tire compounds.
The tires will therefore have to adapt to the cars: the size of the tires will be slightly reduced, but they will not switch to 16″ (they will remain 18″). The first team to work on the 2026 tires was Aston Martin at Montmeló.
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