Remember these choices when F1 pre-season testing times are released later this week
Starting tomorrow, the Formula 1 grid will roar to life as all ten teams are in action at Bahrain International Circuit for three days of pre-season testing.
Ahead of pre-season testing Pirelli, the sport’s exclusive tire supplier, released information on the tire selections for each team. All ten teams were able to select 35 tires across Pirelli’s range of tires — six sets of “slick” tires and two sets of weather tires — and the choices from the teams are rather interesting.
Pirelli
As you can see only two teams, Ferrari and Williams, have opted to bring at least one set of each slick compound in Pirelli’s range. Ferrari and Williams are bringing one set of the C5 soft compound, and one set of the C6 ultra-soft compound, which is making its debut this season.
According to Pirelli “[t]his coming season marks the debut of the C6, which in line with the naming system adopted by Pirelli for several years now, places it at the softest end of the range. It will be suited to Grands Prix run on street circuits and at other tracks where their characteristics mean tires are subjected to low energy levels.”
Might we see a Lewis Hamilton glory run late in the day Friday on the C6 ultra-softs in his first pre-season testing week with Ferrari? We just might …
With only those two teams bringing the softest compound, remember that when the lap times are posted later this week.
As for why the teams are leaning on the harder compounds this week:
This track has always been very hard on tires, which is why the three hardest compounds are usually chosen for the Bahrain Grand Prix. The C3 is by far the most popular choice for the test, partly because it will be the most used tire over the course of the season, as was the case in 2024. However, this year, with six compounds available, it could be absent from some Grands Prix. Mercedes is the team opting to use the most sets of C3 (27), with Williams at the other extreme with just 15 sets of this compound. These teams swap places when it comes to the C2: 12 sets for Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon and just two for George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.
It is also worth noting that only two teams — Aston Martin and Haas — are bringing weather tires. Aston Martin is bringing three sets of the green-walled intermediate compound while Haas is bringing one set of the intermediates and another set of the full wet tires.
As Pirelli notes, currently, there is no rain in the forecast. But if conditions change those two teams will be ready.
If you are wondering how to differentiate between each compound when watching testing this week, Pirelli has this handy guide for you:
Pirelli
For a full explainer on F1 pre-season testing we have you covered here. For a schedule of which drivers are on the track when, we have you covered here.
