Isola upbeat on 2026 tyres as new F1 era takes shape

Feb.10 (GMM) Pirelli boss Mario Isola says Formula 1’s radically new 2026 cars have made a positive first impression, insisting the tyre supplier is well prepared despite the scale of the technical reset.

Speaking after the recent shakedown running in Barcelona, Isola said the transformation of the cars inevitably brings uncertainty – but also encouragement.

“I like the cars,” he told Italy’s Autoracer. “In terms of lines, they look much more agile. The weight difference is not huge and they make a little more noise than the old cars.”

One of Isola’s biggest takeaways was reliability, particularly compared to previous regulation changes.

“In 2014, when the hybrids debuted, some engine manufacturers struggled – there were teams that didn’t even come out of the box,” he recalled. “In Barcelona, I have not seen that kind of problem. Already on the first day, for example, Haas drove 150 laps.”

That early mileage, Isola believes, is a healthy sign for both the championship and Pirelli’s own preparation.

While the cars are very different, the tyres themselves are less revolutionary than some fans may expect. The 18-inch format remains, but Isola stressed that the changes go deeper than simple scaling.

“Yes, it’s true that the tyres have remained on 18-inch rims,” he explained. “But because the size of the cars has changed, it was not possible to simply reduce the band and scale everything again.”

Pirelli, however, has stuck closely to its established philosophy.

“We have not changed the criteria by which we design the tyres,” Isola said. “We have retained performance, temperatures and degradation according to the characteristics of the product we know.”

The main objective for 2026 has been to create clearer differences between compounds.

“We only tried to increase the difference between the compounds,” he said, a change that could open up more strategic variation during races.

At this stage, Isola cautioned against reading too much into early impressions of performance.

“We don’t know the actual performance of the cars,” he said. “They are designed for heavy circuits such as Barcelona, Suzuka, Qatar and Silverstone. I expect that the compounds from C1 to C5 will all be usable.”

On race formats, Isola dismissed suggestions of enforced pit-stop rules returning.

“At the moment there is no more talk about that,” he said, referring to past experiments such as Monaco’s mandatory stops.

Isola also expects current concerns around energy deployment and power delivery to ease quickly.

“The teams will find a way to balance this, because it is decisive for lap time,” he said. “I do not expect that we will still have to deal with these issues in Australia.”

Rain tyres will look different in 2026 as well, with less spray expected due to the new cars.

“Something will change in the rain,” Isola said, “but no one can quantify that yet. That’s why we expect better visibility.”

For now, the Pirelli chief is cautiously optimistic.

“The performance doesn’t seem dramatically different to me than last year,” he concluded. “Especially given that no one went to extremes and the cars were on track for the first time.”

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