Sainz calls for mid-season Pirelli tyre change – Formula One has for much of its existence battled with a never ending cycle of competing priorities. Clever car designers have for decades searched for the magic technological bullet that will propel them to the front of the field in the never ending hunt for championships and glory.
It is the role of the FIA to create the car design and sporting regulations for F1 but this is done with a view to bring about close racing amongst the competitors. The FIA’s position over the incoming 2026 power unit regulations row makes this clear, with the latest proposal being some form of “catch up” mechanism to prevent a repeat of the kind of Mercedes dominance seen from 2014-2021.
Yet Formula One is a complex set of interacting components all of which decide what kind of racing the fans get to see across a Grand Prix weekend. Since Michael Schumacher brought long overdue success to Ferrari in 1999, there have been just three teams which have dominated the sport.
F1 variables which make or break racing
The previous 26 seasons have seen Ferrari claim 6 driver’s titles along with seven constructors’ championships, while the number for Mercedes is 7 and 8 respectively. Red Bull have 8 drivers’ wins four each for Vettel and Verstappen and 6 constructor wins as McLaren stole their thunder last year.
Of the 52 championships on offer, McLaren have one drivers and team title, Brawn also one of each and the once brilliant Renault F1 team have two of each with Alonso crowned King of the hill in 2005/6. This means just 8 of the 52 title races have not ended up at Ferrari, Red Bull or Mercedes with each enjoying significant periods of dominance.
Another of the myriad of F1 components which affects the quality of the racing, is the rubber the teams fit to their cars to complete the 300km long Grand Prix. Pirelli have been the official sole supplier of tyres to Formula One since in 2010 Bridgestone announced they were leaving the sport.
They were immediately tasked with designing and building race tyres which wold add some uncertainty to what was frequently a procession on Sunday afternoon. Rather than build tyres to deliver the optimum performance characteristics of grip and longevity, the FIA requested Pirelli bring to F1 tyres that in fact degraded more quickly than necessary.
Pirelli improve on 2024 F1 tyres
This was to create different race strategies amongst the teams, with some stopping for fresh rubber once whilst others may push harder and use three sets of tyres. As with anything new there were teething problems for the Italian manufacturer, as Pirelli were widely criticised at the Brisitih Grand Prix for their exploding tyres.
Yet the FIA mandate remained firm and over the fifteen years of Pirelli’s tenure as the supplier of F1 tyres, their understanding of how to deliver the right kind of degradation has improved year on year. For 2025 Pirelli were asked to deliver tyres which overheated less whilst still degrading, something Carlos Sainz believes they have achieved.
“They’ve done a step,” Sainz acknowledges, “and this year so far we can push more in the race.” The problem is the racing unaffected by the weather conditions, has seen each Grand Prix predominantly a one stop for the teams. This is not Pirelli’s objective as they attempt to offer a suite of tyres which lends itself to more interesting strategic choices including the two stop.
If the F1 teams can find a way, they will always err on the side of a one stop race if possible. Coming in to make a pit stop is fraught with danger as Red Bull and Max Verstappen found out to their cost at this year’s Bahrain Grand Prix. With two stop races, different teams tend to opt for significantly different approaches to the timing of their pit stops. This creates what is known as a ‘tyre offset’, with some drivers on older tyres running longer, whilst others on fresher rubber can come back through the field after their stop.
Extra F1 tyre compound for 2025
For 2025, Pirelli have introduced a new softer tyre in the range, meaning the dry weather choices now number six different compounds labelled C1-C6, with C1 being the hardest. Each race weekend Pirelli chose three of the compounds from the range to bring to the Grand Prix. They are always consecutive in their numbered labelling and whether they are harder or softer depends on the circuit configuration, the type of asphalt and the temperatures predicted.
TJ13 has repeatedly suggested since the days of exploding rubber, that Pirelli’s choices of tyres for each race weekend tends to be conservative, erring on the side of tyres being harder than really necessary. This of course leads to them lasting longer, degrading less and producing one stop processional style racing.
Not only did Pirelli add another compound to their 2025 range, but they changed the construction of the tyres which should mean they are less likely to fail. Carlos Sainz’s believes the Italian tyre manufacturer should be more confident when selecting each weekends tyre compounds, now that certain issues appear to have been resolved.
For the first four races of the year, Pirelli brought the same numbered tyres to each Grand Prix as they did last year, but the range is supposed to be one step softer., This has done nothing to improve the racing spectacle to date, despite in Jeddah Pirelli going one stop softer than they did in 2024.
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Sainz calls for Pirelli to change tack
Sainz recognises the improvement in the 2025 tyres, yet he notes ironically, “now we’re back into one-stop races and we are complaining that there is not enough deg and we want more deg.” The drivers don’t mind degradation of the right sort, it was the thermal degradation from 2024 they complained about.
Degradation from just using the tyre and it wearing down is fine, and when Pirelli get their tyre compounds selections correct, the racing is way more spectacular. With Suzuka and Shanghai having been resurfaced for this year’s F1 event, there was little of no tyre degradation seen at the end of the 300km long races.
Sainz believes F1 needs to be brave and instruct Pirelli to select compounds for each weekend even a step softer than is currently planned. “What creates overtaking in my opinion is to have a delta to the car in front. If you’re only one tenth quicker in F1, you’re never going to pass. You need to be five, six, seven tenths quicker than the car in front around Suzuka to overtake. And the only way to generate that in Suzuka is with degradation. You cannot generate anything else.
FIA can mandate for two stop F1 Grand Prix
“So I would be happy if they’re going to maybe go a step softer in compounds. Given that the tyre is more robust, going softer in compound will increase degradation and increase a bit the chance of overtaking,” the Williams driver believes.
“So for me it’s more about trying to make sure the race is always between a one- and a two-stop, because like that you will have teams trying to do one-stops with high degradation and other teams running faster on a two-stop to try and overtake and make it to the flag,” Sainz concludes.
The Spaniard believes even mid-season F1 can give Pirelli the encouragement to switch from their original planned compound selection, yet the FIA has within its power to regulate for a two stop race. In an attempt to make the Grand Prix in Monaco less dull than it usually is, they have regulated for mandatory two pit stops this year.
In 2024 for the first time in F1 history, the top ten drivers all finished in exactly the position they started the race which is not a good look for the sport. Persuading Pirelli to be bold with selecting tyres that degrade more quickly is the best solution, yet the FIA could make other street circuit races mandatory two stops as well.
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FIA ramp up pressure on Mercedes over 2026 engines
Formula One is known for its speed and rapid technological innovation as each year the teams design a prototype racing car unique to each of the others with some 20,000 components creating the final product. Then during there season, the technical departments of the teams will find ways of upgrading the car to make it even quicker, often finding 1-2 seconds per lap when compared to the base design from the start of the year.
Yet perversely the sport at times is like an ocean going container ship, which takes a huge amount of time to make even the gentles of turns. The process which planned the new engines for 2026 has been one of the most farcical ever in the history of the sport.
Way back in 2017, the FIA set up a working party to discuss the future of F1 power. The “who so ever will” were invited as F1 made a push to attract more engine manufacturers following the Red Bull Renault debacle, which almost saw the Milton Keynes team without a power unit for the 2016 season….. READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
