Pirelli announces key changes for the remainder of the season
With the F1 field slowly returning from its well-deserved summer break, Formula One's sole tyre manufacturer Pirelli has announced its tyre selections for the remainder of the season.
Pirelli has informed the teams of its choice of dry tyre compounds for all ten races after the summer break , with the selectionset to include several changes compared to last year, based first and foremost on data gathered so far.
This weekend's Dutch Grand Prix will include a softer tyre selection compared to the 2024 Zandvoort round. It means that drivers will have the C2 as Hard, the C3 as Medium and the C4 as Soft at their disposal. Last year, when three quarters of the field only made one pit stop during the race, the tyres in use were the hardest in the range, namely, C1, C2 and C3.
This year’s new tyre, the C6, reappears in Baku, which means the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is also taking a step on the softer side with C4 as Hard, the C5 as Medium and the C6 as Soft, to increase the range of possible strategies. Last year in Baku the slicks in use were the C3, C4 and C5.
While Pirelli usually brings three consecutive compounds from its six-compound range, the Belgian Grand Prix saw the Milan-based tyre manufacturer chose three dry weather compounds that are not consecutive.
The hardest compound of its range, the C1 acted as the hard tyre while the C3 was provided as the medium and the C4 as the soft at Spa-Francorchamps.
However, the rain at Spa meant it was impossible to fully evaluate the effect on strategy of skipping a compound, but missing a compound step will also be the case for two of the four rounds in the Americas, which are a feature of the second part of the season.
In Austin, only the Medium (C3) and Soft (C4) will be in the same positions as last year, while the Hard is harder, (C1 instead of C2). The same approach will be adopted the following week in Mexico City: Medium (C4) and Soft (C5) remain the same, while the Hard goes one step harder from C3 to C2.
A completely harder step has been selected for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, as last year it was clear that the C5 was not a viable race tyre. Therefore, the trio of compounds is the same as in 2023, namely the C2, C3 and C4 as the Hard, Medium and Soft respectively.
The remaining five races all follow the same pattern as in 2024. For the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, as well as the races in Singapore, Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi, the C3 is Hard, the C4 is Medium and the C5 is Soft. For Qatar, one of the toughest races of the whole season as far as tyres are concerned, the trio will be the hardest of the 2025 range (C1 as Hard, C2 as Medium and C3 as Soft).
“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,” explained Mario Isola, Pirelli Director of Motorsport.
“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.”
