Could the soft Pirelli emerge as viable compound for the Silverstone F1 Sprint?

Pirelli believes all three tyre compounds could play a role over the remainder of the British Grand Prix weekend after an encouraging opening day at Silverstone, with the soft tyre performing better than initially anticipated.

For Formula 1's visit to the high-speed Silverstone circuit, Pirelli selected the hardest trio in its 2026 range: the C1 as the hard compound, the C2 as the medium and the C3 as the soft. The choice reflects the severe loads the circuit places on the tyres through its succession of high-speed corners, while also aiming to keep degradation under control during longer race stints.

The C1 compound made its first appearance since the Japanese Grand Prix and was used extensively during the sole practice session as teams familiarised themselves with the hardest tyre in the range. Meanwhile, the C2 and C3 compounds were primarily reserved for performance runs, allowing teams to gather valuable data ahead of Sprint Qualifying and the rest of the weekend.

According to Pirelli Motorsport Director Dario Marrafuschi, tyre behaviour throughout Friday closely matched the company's pre-event expectations.

"The Silverstone weekend has got underway in line with expectations on the tyre front, while the home crowd enjoyed a welcome surprise thanks to a British favourite securing Sprint pole position.

"The first part of the sole hour of free practice allowed teams to become familiar with the C1, a compound that, prior to Silverstone, had only been used at Suzuka. The C2 and C3, on the other hand, were mainly used for performance runs, enabling teams to gather useful data ahead of the rest of the weekend."

Marrafuschi revealed that degradation levels remained well under control across both Friday sessions, while the performance difference between the medium and soft compounds was slightly smaller than simulations had predicted.

"In both of today's sessions, degradation proved to be in line with our expectations, and the initial performance delta observed between Medium and Soft, at equal fuel loads, was around four tenths, approximately a tenth less than indicated by simulations."

Perhaps the most significant takeaway from Friday's running was the competitiveness of the C3 soft tyre. Although previous editions of the British Grand Prix have seen the soft compound suffer from graining, this year's data suggests it can remain competitive over a longer distance than expected.

That could open up strategic opportunities during Saturday's Sprint, particularly for drivers starting further down the order who may benefit from the additional grip offered by the soft compound.

"It will be interesting to see tomorrow which compounds come into play in the Sprint race, because, at this stage, even the Soft appears capable of being among the competitive options, particularly for those starting from the second half of the grid."