Pirelli’s 2026 Tyre Test Explained

Having raced at Monza at the weekend, the work in Italy isn’t done for Atlassian Williams Racing. This week, we remain at the Temple of Speed as part of Pirelli’s tyre testing programme for the 2026 season.

The Pirelli tyre tests are completed by all F1 teams for Pirelli so they can homologate (approve for use) the 2026 tyre construction and compounds. Pirelli run several tests a year, and we will be completing two of them in 2026. Teams will run with a mule car based on a previous car, or a converted 2025 F1 car.

Slick tyre (C4/C5/C6) compounds were tested on Tuesday. Today, we will start testing different inter and wet tyres. This helps Pirelli understand the full range of tyres available to teams trackside.

The 2026 tyres will be narrowed from 2025 – 25mm on the front and 30mm narrower on the rear. The 18-inch wheel size will be retained from 2025. The tyres do have different constructions and compounds.

The driver will aim to discover and report back differences between the 2026 tyre options they’re testing, as well as the tyre behaviour. Driver feedback helps Pirelli decide which tyres to take forward to future tests, as well as helping teams understand the development direction Pirelli are going in for next year. As an F1 driver for 10 years, Carlos’ feedback is imperative.

Testing helps us understand potential limitations of next year’s tyres to feed into FW48 car philosophy. It also helps Pirelli confirm their tyre range for next year. For F1, they want to know the generally preferred specs from a range of teams from various tests – rather than teams having no input at a limited number of tracks, and giving bad feedback for the 2026 tyre compounds.