Good or bad news for (rain) tyres in 2026? Pirelli makes bold claim
Co-author:Norberto Mujica
Marnik Kok caught the Formula 1 world around twenty years ago. A deep passion for motorsport, Ferrari, and a background in journalism led him to contribute to various (international) F1 platforms. Since 2020, Marnik has been active as an editor and journalist in the pinnacle of motorsport for several media outlets, including De Telegraaf. As of 2025, he brings that experience to GPblog as a seasoned editor.
During his active years as a journalist — now working as a freelancer — Marnik attended numerous events, with the Dutch Grand Prix standing out as one of the highlights. In addition to his work at GPblog, Marnik is also active in the communications sector at a major national provider and steps in wherever needed. Sitting still is not an option — especially not in motorsport!
Tires, tires, tires. With the past rain races, the slicks and wets have been a big topic of conversation. The full wets are hardly used, while the intermediates seem to work well, but they can't be raced in heavy rain. The mediums also sometimes seem a better option than the softs: even in qualifying, this has happened. How is tyre production for the 2026 cars going?
This Formula 1 season a lot of testing is already being done for next year, when the rules in Formula 1 are going to be overhauled.
The new cars naturally have new characteristics, as a result of which suitable tires also need to be looked at. When Pirelli F1 boss Mario Isola is asked about developing the new tires, he has to admit to, among others, GPBlog: "It's difficult."
"But it's similar to the situation we had years ago in 2021 and 2016 when there was a big change in the regulations."
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In principle, Pirelli's tyres work well. Teams often manage well with them, but the full wets remain a sore spot.
Isola doesn't get into the compounds further, but does say that 'the test is going well'.
Pirelli benefits from the help of F1 teams
Isola gives a bit more hope about the tyres for next year: "We are lucky that we can test with all the teams because they have different mule cars, so we can collect more information.
"We work a lot on the virtual model of the tyre as well together with the teams", says the Pirelli boss.
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Will the tyres be a success next year? Isola dares to state: "I'm confident that we will have a good product. Now the construction is almost finalised. We are working on the compounds."
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