Pirelli drops softs compounds to return to the harder tyres for Barcelona

Having supplied teams with its softest tyres of its six-compound range, Formula One's sole tyre supplier Pirelli will return to the harder end of the spectrum for this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

The second triple-header of the season concludes at another classic Formula 1 track, the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit that has hosted the Spanish Grand Prix every year since 1991. It’s an eagerly awaited event as the track is one of the most complete in offering a full range of technical challenges. That’s why it was one of the most popular tracks for testing, on the basis that if a car works well here it does so everywhere.

This weekend a new FIA technical directive comes into play, concerning the flexibility of the wings, which some experts reckon could have an effect on car performance.

Furthermore, Barcelona has traditionally been the track where teams bring significant updates, specifically to test them on what is a demanding circuit.

Not only is the track challenging for the cars, it also places high demands on the tyres.

After two consecutive rounds featuring the softest trio in the 2025 range, as usual Pirelli has chosen the hardest, namely the C1 as Hard, the C2 as Medium and the C3 as Soft. The three compounds have been revised since last year, especially the C2, making the performance gaps between them more equidistant. That could lead to the Medium and Soft being favoured for the race.

The forces exerted on the tyres are medium to high, because of the many fast corners, such as turn 3 and the final two, both of them righthanders. The corner of the car subjected to the greatest stress is the front left, as right hand turns are in the majority.

Even if the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit is no longer much used for testing by the teams, because of the virtual elimination of in-season testing and a reduction in pre-season work, it is still a very important test bench.

That’s why Pirelli has chosen to test here for a third time, following on from September 2024 and this January, working on development of tyres for next season. The test takes place on Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 June, with the help of Mercedes drivers on both days, Racing Bulls on Tuesday and Red Bull on Wednesday.

For years now a two-stop strategy has been pretty much a given at Montmelò and last year’s race was no exception. All drivers, with the exception of Alex Albon starting from pit lane on the Medium, lined up on the grid on the Soft for the first stint.

12 drivers used all three available compounds, leaving the Hard for the final stint, while the top three finishers, winner Max Verstappen followed by Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton, were on a second set of Softs when they took the chequered flag.