Dutch GP driver ratings: Hamilton clanger, Hadjar\u2019s heroics, Piastri domination<\/a><\/p>\nPirelli reach F1 2026 tyre homologation date<\/p>\n
This week marks not only Pirelli\u2019s 500th F1 Grand Prix (Zandvoort being the 500th entry but with the milestone being celebrated at its home event at Monza), but also the homologation date for the F1 2026 compounds.<\/p>\n
As of September 1st, Pirelli has had to lock in the compounds which will form the range of C1 to C6 tyres available for the racing season next year.<\/p>\n
Given the tweaks in size of the tyre, and the reduction of the contact patch with the tarmac, Isola explained that it\u2019s not merely a continuation of the current range, despite sticking with 18-inch tyres.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe size is not so different, still an 18-inch, [but] we have a lower diameter and a different width,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat means that we had to re-design the profile completely, not just the construction and the compounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe profile is defining the footprint and how the footprint operates, and that\u2019s really important for us, because the footprint define the level of wear, the level of degradation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have the risk of having blistering, for example, because if you have a small area where you are pushing a lot, then that area is more prone to blistering.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo there are many elements that we should consider, and the change is quite big.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn top of that, we still have some question marks of the performance of the cars next year. That\u2019s why we are still working hard with the teams and the FIA to understand what is the prediction to define the compounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have many tests available. We have Monza, Mugello, and Mexico, and it\u2019s finished. For that reason, we want to understand the performance in order to have a range of compounds that is centred compared to the performance of the cars.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are trying to extend, a little bit, the delta laptimes between compounds, and we want to homologate six compounds, because with this flexibility, we can move a bit more on the soft side or the harder side, depending on the real performance of the cars.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will discover that only next year at the preseason test, and probably not even the real performance at the preseason test, because we know that the teams are hiding the real performance.\u201d<\/p>\n
A key point to consider for Pirelli is that, while initial downforce levels of the new F1 2026 will be reduced compared to this year, therefore vastly reducing the demands on the tyre\u2019s construction and compounds, the teams can and will add downforce relentlessly.<\/p>\n
Isola explained the process of creating the new tyres with this in mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking at development of the construction, we started with a baseline at the beginning of the development last year, and then obviously, depending on what we have seen with the mule car testing, together with the simulations \u2013 because don\u2019t forget that when we have these big [regulation] differences for the following year \u2013 we usually work on two parallel directions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne is the real tyre, the physical prototype, testing on mule cars, and the other one is the virtual model of the tyre and the virtual model of the car that we use in our simulations.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut what is interesting is that we supply the vehicle model of the tyre to the teams. They use it with their simulators, and they come back to us with feedback.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo first of all, we have to assess the level of integrity required. There was a lot of discussion about the load for next year\u2019s cars.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn general, the load seems to be lower during this year, but we have to consider the end of next season, not the beginning.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the beginning would not be correct, because then we freeze the tyre for one year. We cannot change the construction mid-season unless there is a clear, let\u2019s say, mistake from the simulation we received, and we realise that the product we have developed is not in line with the real performance of the cars \u2013 in that case, we can ask for a change in construction, but we always try to avoid that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt happened a couple of years ago, because the simulations were clearly underestimated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe assess the level of integrity, then the balance and then the drivability of the tyre using compounds that are the current compounds, or compounds that we know.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo at least we have only one variable, that is the construction. We started with the baseline, then we adjusted the performance of the tyres.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember at the beginning of the development, the teams required a higher current stiffness from the rear tyres. The front was good, the rear was a little bit weak.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo they, in general, requested making a stronger rear, which we did, and we always work with with the teams in order to design a tyre that is the best compromise for all the cars with the information that we have \u2013 it\u2019s not a lot, but at least it\u2019s better for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read Next:\u00a0McLaren data suggests source of Lando Norris Dutch DNF<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ferrari ran a movable front wing DRS device during a recent Pirelli tyre test in Budapest, helping the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":110849,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[831,59,348,53558,50,20066,86,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-110848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ferrari","tag-gb","tag-home-page","tag-mario-isola","tag-news","tag-pirelli","tag-technology","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110848\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}