Pirelli confirms compound choices for final F1 races
Pirelli has released what compounds will be used for the remaining ten F1 races in 2025. Image: XPB Images

The full-season announcement, made in collaboration with the FIA and Formula 1, includes softer selections at Zandvoort and Baku, as well as revised lineups in several other rounds.

The decisions are based on data gathered throughout the year, simulation analysis, and a continued push to encourage multi-stop strategies.

At the Dutch Grand Prix, the selection moves a step softer than last year with the C2, C3 and C4 as the hard, medium and soft compounds.

In 2024, Zandvoort featured the hardest trio in Pirelli’s range — C1 through C3 — with much of the field opting for a one-stop strategy. The softer choice this year is expected to bring greater variation and potentially more pit stops.

Baku will see the return of Pirelli’s new-for-2025 C6 compound as the soft tyre, accompanied by the C4 (hard) and C5 (medium).

That shift, softer than the C3–C5 mix used in 2024, marks an effort to widen the strategic window in a race known for low degradation but frequent interruptions.

Two upcoming rounds — Austin and Mexico City — will feature a compound “step” between the hard and medium, a tactic trialled earlier this year at Spa.

While the medium and soft compounds remain the same, the hard tyre will be one step harder than last year: C1 instead of C2 in Austin, and C2 instead of C3 in Mexico.

A return to the same trio as last year — C2, C3, C4 — is planned for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after the C5 proved unfit for racing in 2024. That round will now avoid ultra-soft rubber altogether.

For five of the final ten races — Monza, Singapore, Las Vegas, Abu Dhabi and Qatar — compound selections remain unchanged from 2024. Qatar, known for its abrasive surface and high lateral loads, will once again use the hardest trio: C1, C2 and C3.

“We decided to announce the compound choices for all remaining races in order to allow teams to prepare as well as possible for all the coming rounds,” Pirelli’s Head of Motorsport Mario Isola said.

“There are some changes, made in consultation with the FIA and the championship promoter and they are based on an analysis of the data gathered and the simulation work.

“The choices are always made with the aim of balancing out the validity of the one or two-stop strategy, to increase excitement and deliver a better show.

“There is no single solution to achieving this, but without looking at the reality of the racing situation you can’t expect concrete answers.”

The C6 compound debuted earlier this year, expanding Pirelli’s range to seven dry-weather slicks for 2025.

That additional option has given F1’s sole tyre supplier more flexibility in tailoring selections to specific circuit characteristics and goals for race strategy.