19/09/2024
NEWS STORY
Aston Martin has become the first team to test the proposed narrower tyres for the 2026 season.
While the 18-inch rim is retained the width of both the front and rear tyres are to be reduced, those at the front by 25mm and at the rear by 30mm. At the same time the diameter of the 2026 tyres sees them reduced from the current 720mm to 705 and 710mm
The tyres made their debut on a modified 2023 Aston Martin at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with Felipe Drugovich in action on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Even though the 2026 regulations have yet to be signed off Pirelli was keen to test its new tyres - introduced as part of the drive to reduce weight - in a bid to acquire data, consequently agreement was reached with the FIA whereby initial testing could be carried out on mule cars, modified 2023 cars.
"After the first stages of design, simulation and test bed work, in parallel, the development programme will involve a series of track tests carried out with the vital collaboration of the teams," said Pirelli.
"As per the first version of the technical regulations, the details of which remain to be finalised, the aerodynamic configuration of the cars will be very different and therefore the loads exerted on the tyres will also change. Track testing is therefore important to reproduce as closely as possible the conditions which will be found in 2026. Therefore, the teams taking part in the tests will use a modified car and the first of these is Aston Martin who provided an adapted 2023 car."
"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," said Mike Krack, according to Motorsport.com, when asked why Aston Martin got to run the tyres first. "We were drawn first, so we are the first to do this."
It is understood, though not confirmed, that McLaren and Alpine will be next to try the new tyres.
"Obviously, on one side, they don't want to give an advantage to anyone," said Pirelli's Mario Isola. "That is understandable. 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," he added. "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."