In just over a week, the 2025 F1 season will officially start at the Australian GP. McLaren will arrive in Melbourne as the favourite, given what they showed in Bahrain testing. However there are many unknowns ahead of round one.
Teams across the field aren’t just preparing for Melbourne, but are also working on their 2026 projects. This is to prepare for one of the biggest regulatory overhauls (aerodynamics, engine, electronics) in F1 history.
Pirelli Problem: 2026 Cars Are Impossible to Simulate on Track
The work teams do is obviously essential, but so is that of suppliers – who must also adapt to major change. Speaking of Pirelli, next year’s tyres will be completely different. Not only in terms of size (narrower) but also in terms of construction and compounds.
In Bahrain, a two-day test took place with Williams and Alpine engaged in developing the dry tyres.
Pirelli concentrated both on experimenting with different constructions (using the same compound) and testing different compounds, from C1 to C3. They used a basic construction to allow for uniform data between the various prototypes.
Pirelli’s first objective will be to establish the construction of the new generation tyres. They will also work more intensively on the compounds, but not without significant problems.
“Simulate the 2026 cars is impossible,” Mario Isola stated. The mule cars provided by the various teams are something totally distant from the next-generation ‘agile’ cars.
This is mainly because the aerodynamics will be very different, with the double DRS not easily simulated. The same can be said in terms of power units and car weight.
F1’s 2026 cars are expected to have around 20% less downforce than the current ones. They will have a surface that will be less preponderant in the total downforce generated, despite the cars being lighter and more agile.
For this reason, the mule cars use wings to better simulate the downforce levels anticipated in 2026. As for weight, Pirelli and the teams are working hard on the fuel load in testing, never exceeding 70 kg on board, to get closer to the weight that the new cars will have in racing conditions.
Tyre formula: Mercedes agreed to stick with 2025 tyres but their rivals didn’t want it so as not to give them an advantage?
It is therefore not surprising that George Russell, one of the drivers who has already tested the 2026 tyres, had rather negative words.
“Driving on the 2026 tyres was a challenge. They are much worse compared to the wider tyres we currently have,” said Russell in Bahrain.
The main problem that emerged on the first prototypes tested was severe overheating. Pirelli confirmed this, with the annoying phenomenon being very much linked to the new (narrower) tyre sizes.
Still, it was also clear that the current prototypes are the first iterations of a development that require at least 8 intense months of more work.
An alternative Pirelli proposed to the teams was to continue with this season’s tyres. These are obviously wider and more familiar. “We spoke to the teams and proposed that they stay with the current tyre dimensions,” said Mario Isola.
This alternative that was rejected by the teams, even though there was no real vote. In any case, Pirelli continued develop the narrower tyres for 2026. It is interesting to note that Mercedes was in favour of Pirelli’s proposed continuation of existing tyres.
There is very interesting context surrounding the lack of support Mercedes received from other front-runners. It is believed that other teams opposed Pirelli’s idea to prevent Mercedes from gaining an advantage. The Silver Arrows are seen as perhaps the best prepared engine manufacturer for 2026.
If Formula 1 became more impacted by tyres, with performance teams limited by overheating, having a decisive engine advantage would be less of a game-changer. Instead, managing the tyres would have more importance.
More generally, many teams want the most changes possible to completely shuffle the pecking order in 2026.
