To spice up the connection between F1 expertise and street vehicles, tyre dimension grew from 26.4 inches (13-inch wheel rims) to twenty-eight.3 inches (18-inch rims) for the arrival of floor impact in 2022.
This adopted the 2017 transfer to ‘broad vehicles’, which marked the introduction of a 2.4-inch wider entrance tyre and a 3.15-inch development for the rears in comparison with the earlier 2010-16 era.
Nonetheless, the larger rubber contributes to a brand new minimal automobile weight restrict of 798kg. This bulk led to driver complaints that the equipment is lazy and understeers. In flip, the slow-speed dealing with has partly offset the specified overtaking features introduced by the regulatory overhaul.
As such, Pirelli – which signed an F1 contract extension to exclusively supply tyres until 2027, with an possibility for an extra season – is anticipating a design temporary to return to smaller rubber.
Pirelli motorsport boss Mario Isola informed choose media, together with Autosport: “[In] 2026, we have now a very new automobile, most likely a brand new tyre dimension.
“[Smaller, lighter tyres], it is doable. It is not outlined but, however the goal isn’t a secret: that’s to design lighter vehicles, extra agile vehicles and tyres are part of the burden of the automobile.
“So, it may be that we have now to provide smaller tyres. If we have now to provide smaller tyres as we did up to now, we’ll change once more in 2026.
“It is a part of our settlement with Components 1 to comply with the request of the stakeholders to design a tyre that’s all the time according to the goal outlined by all of the stakeholders.”
Photograph by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Mario Isola, Racing Supervisor, Pirelli Motorsport, talks to the press
Isola added that lowering tyre dimension was the first approach of meaningfully making the rubber lighter given the present development already leans closely on weight-saving expertise.
He defined: “The weather within the development, we’re already utilizing supplies which are excessive expertise supplies which are very mild.
“Should you put a variety of weight into the tyre, you generate extra warmth. Producing extra warmth implies that the chance is to blister or create different conditions that aren’t good for the efficiency and sturdiness of the tyre.
“Once we determined to provide the brand new development in Silverstone [earlier this year], it’s only a new materials that’s, with the identical weight, extra resistant.
“So, our analysis and growth on new supplies – we have now a devoted division for strengthened supplies and compounds – are all the time taking a look at enhancing the resistance of the fabric, maintaining the burden as little as doable.
“That is helpful additionally for the expertise switch [to road cars].”
Pirelli has additionally revealed that it’s imminently about to start evaluation into the 2025 F1 tyre development amid growing driver complaints about the high levels of degradation.