Pirelli Conducts New 2026 F1 Tire Test With Aston Martin

Saajan Jogia | Sep 18, 2024

Oct 19, 2018; Austin, TX, USA; A view of the Pirelli logo and wet track during practice for the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Formula 1's official tire supplier, Pirelli has conducted a test run of the 2026 spec tire with Aston Martin on its 2023 challenger. With less than eighteen months left before the premier class of motorsport enters the new era of regulations, Pirelli will introduce smaller and lighter tires for weight reduction.

Despite the 2026 F1 technical regulations not yet being finalized, meaning the definitive aerodynamic loads are still undetermined, Pirelli opted not to delay testing and proceeded with running the new tires on the track.

It is confirmed that the 2026 car will be smaller and lighter than current cars to encourage close racing. Thus, Pirelli has confirmed plans to decrease the width of the front tires by 25mm and the rear tires by 30mm. The tire diameter will also be reduced, shifting from 720mm to a range of 705-710mm. However, the 18-inch rims from the current era will stay the same.

Aston Martin was selected for the test through a lottery system since several teams were willing to enroll themselves for the test. The Silverstone outfit's team principal, Mike Krack, said in a statement to the media:

“There was a selection process – or a lottery process – because there was a number of teams who wanted to be part of this test programme. We were drawn first, so we are the first to do this."

Felipe Drugovich, Aston Martin's reserve driver, was the first to test the 2026 tire designs. He spent two days in Barcelona this week in a modified Aston Martin, completing 670 km of running on Tuesday.

However, in order for tests to be conducted on mule cars, the FIA had to make changes in the 2026 regulations. Pirelli also admitted that the situation was tricky, as they had to ensure that no team gained an undue advantage over the competition. Pirelli’s head of car racing, Mario Isola added:

“Obviously, on one side, they [the FIA] don't want to give an advantage to anyone.

“On the other side, we need to have cars that are as much as possible representative of the 2026 situation. We will choose, together with the teams, a downforce level that is representative.

“But this is the very first test. We are going to test the baseline to understand if the balance is correct. Obviously, we have simulations, and we have indoor testing, and we already released indoor data to all the teams, as usual, and we are going to distribute the report after the test with the teams too.”

McLaren and Alpine are also expected to join the initial round of mule car testing, with the remaining teams scheduled to participate later in the development program.