As Formula 1 continues to evolve with an increasingly diverse array of tracks, Pirelli is set to expand its tire selection in 2025, specifically to meet the demands of the numerous street circuits now featured on the calendar. With the recent addition of venues like Las Vegas, Pirelli’s focus is on developing compounds that enhance performance on these challenging, temporary tracks.
Currently, Pirelli offers six slick compounds for each race weekend, nominating three as the soft, medium, and hard options depending on the venue. However, with a packed 24-race schedule that spans a wide range of track characteristics, Pirelli recognizes the need for more specialized tires. To address this, they are testing a new, even softer compound at Paul Ricard, aimed at improving grip and reducing overheating on street circuits.
Pirelli’s motorsport director, Mario Isola, shed light on their progress: “We collected quite a lot of good information during testing and have more or less finalized the construction of the 2025 slick tires. We have developed very promising compounds designed to reduce overheating for 2025. The idea is to introduce a new C6 compound, which is softer, because we have more street circuits on the calendar and need softer compounds to perform well.”
Isola explained the delicate balance required in tire development: “We are shifting the range towards the softer side while always trying to reduce overheating. The real challenge lies in finding the right trade-off between overheating and degradation. We need to manage degradation while minimizing overheating, and that’s not always easy because these two factors are interconnected.”
With these advancements, Pirelli aims to provide Formula 1 teams with tires that offer superior performance on the sport’s expanding roster of street circuits. Fans can look forward to enhanced racing dynamics and even more thrilling competitions in the seasons to come.
