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Pirelli continues its work on 2026 wet-weather tyres. Mario Isola, head of the Motorsport division of the Italian manufacturer, reveals the goals for the Intermediate compounds and, above all, the Full Wets.
Week by week, 2026 is getting closer, bringing with it technical regulation changes for Formula 1. In recent months, Pirelli has been working on tyres for the next generation of single-seaters, including those for wet conditions.
This refers to the Intermediates and Full Wets, designed for damp and extreme wet track conditions. In recent years, the use of Full Wets has become complicated due to the large amount of spray they generate, drastically reducing visibility. The Milan-based company is developing a wet range that allows greater use of Cinturato Full Wets by reducing the crossover time—the point when teams switch compounds—between these tyres and the Intermediates, which currently dominate race weekends when rain plays a major role.
“Ideally, we now have a 118% crossover between wet and intermediate tyres. We’d like to reduce it to 116 or 115. This way, drivers won’t rush to switch to intermediates, as the wet tyres will still perform well,” Isola explained at Spa-Francorchamps.
The situation seen at Silverstone, where most drivers opted for Intermediates despite heavy rain, showed the need for this change. The choice avoided an extra pit stop and time loss on track that would have been impossible to recover.
For this reason, Pirelli aims to develop a Full Wet that allows easier switching from Intermediates to extreme wet tyres.
“Sometimes drivers delay fitting extreme wets because they are so close to a red flag scenario. They want to avoid an extra stop and risk losing track position that can’t be regained due to a red flag,” Isola added. “That’s why, even at Silverstone in pouring rain and standing water, everyone used Intermediates. Reducing the crossover should help them switch more easily to extreme wets. But it also depends on when conditions are deemed too dangerous, prompting a safety car or red flag. At a track like Spa, that’s normal.”
The new generation of 18-inch tyres for Formula 1 from 2026 will have a smaller diameter and be narrower than current specifications—25 millimetres less at the front and 30 at the rear—helping to reduce the cars’ minimum weight.
Earlier in May, Pirelli tested again, after initial trials at Paul Ricard earlier this year, a new type of wet tyre with a tread pattern very different from current designs, especially in the central section of the pattern.
Aug 8, 2025
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