Thinking about the new regulations and looking ahead to the 2026 season, discussions often focus mainly on changes affecting engines and active aerodynamics. However, there is another element that deserves careful consideration: Pirelli tires.
Even though tires are a highly significant technical component whose design and performance are not directly managed by the teams, as they are supplied externally, they still play a crucial role within Formula 1. Tires represent the connection between the car and the asphalt.
The ability of teams and drivers to extract maximum performance from the car largely depends on them. At least this is true in the current era. Whether this will remain the case in 2026, or even become more significant, no one can say with certainty in advance.
What do teams actually know about the 2026 Pirelli product?
This brings us to some of the first questions regarding the next season. Early rumors are beginning to emerge about which teams may have the best engine and which might enjoy the strongest aerodynamic package. Drivers are testing 2026 cars in simulators and, as a result, are starting to form an understanding of the drivability and performance they will have next season.
In this broader picture, however, the question remains: what is the level of knowledge among teams regarding the 2026 Pirelli product? What data do they actually possess? And, above all, which tire model have they incorporated into their simulators?
Contrary to what some might expect, teams do not yet have access to a precise tire model. It may seem surprising, but it is the reality. Testing related to the development of the 2026 tire began in September 2024 and has continued throughout the current season, following a period of relative pause during the winter. The tire structure will be frozen in September, after which only data regarding the compounds, to be provided after homologation, will be available on December 1.
Until then, what data can the teams feed into their sophisticated simulation systems? First of all, their work is not completely done in the dark. Pirelli provides data on rigid tires and specifications with structures similar to those previously used in the past or during the current season.
An incomplete picture of the 2026 package
It is clear that for the teams’ engineers, working in this way does not allow them to have a precise understanding of their overall package. Furthermore, even if they feel confident in their current work, there is no guarantee that they will maintain control over the situation at the start of the 2026 season. By “control,” we mean achieving a level of simulator-to-track correlation that is sufficiently reliable.
What has been described so far may seem obvious to some readers and perhaps surprising to others, but considering that engineers from all teams will approach the final stages of their car’s design without knowing the real behavior of the tires is a notion that can leave even seasoned professionals almost astonished.
Challenges at the start of a new regulatory era
It is worth remembering that this is not the first time Pirelli and Formula 1 have adopted this kind of process to define tire specifications. A similar situation occurred in 2022 with the transition from 13-inch to 18-inch tires. When changes of this magnitude occur, both the teams and Pirelli face significant challenges: the limited number of sessions available to develop the new product for the following year due to a packed event calendar, and the necessity of relying on mule cars in the absence of the actual race cars, which in this case will only hit the track for the first time in 2026.
Therefore, the fact that development work began in September 2024 can already be considered a small victory.
Recap and final considerations
To summarize with concrete details: information regarding the tire structure will be available on September 1, when the specification freeze is scheduled. Data related to the compounds, provided as percentages relative to the previous product, will instead be shared after December 1, the official deadline for their homologation.
With the critical part of the tire frozen in September, teams will have approximately five to six months to finalize the last adjustments to their cars and enter the final stages of preparation for the new season. If a team realizes it has made a design error during this autumn-winter period, arriving at pre-season testing with a significant gap to competitors would be almost inevitable.
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