Russell: Pirelli's new F1 tyres for 2026 are "quite a step worse"

Mercedes driver George Russell believes Formula 1 is in danger of reducing the quality of its Pirelli tyres when the new rules commence in 2026.

The championship is set to overhaul its technical regulations next year, which includes introducing tyres that are narrower – by 25mm at the front and 30mm at the rear - than the current rubber.

This change is an attempt to reduce drag levels, with the FIA initially wanting to switch from 18-inch tyres to 16-inch but Pirelli opposed that for both practicality and marketing reasons.

Russell took part in a tyre test at Jerez in February and, although he is relatively optimistic for the new regulations, his biggest concern lies with the Pirelli rubber currently being proposed.

“That [the test] was a bit of a challenge compared to the wider tyres we have today,” said the three-time grand prix winner in Bahrain for 2025 pre-season testing.

“It was quite a step worse with the new tyres. That is naturally the case, because they're just much more narrow. So hopefully they will be improved over the upcoming months.”

Mule cars have been used for testing of 2026 tyres

Photo by: Pirelli

Several drivers have undertaken Pirelli tyre testing for 2026, including those of McLaren and Ferrari in Barcelona, yet most of the valuable data has actually come from the simulator.

That is because there are currently no cars representative of the 2026 rules for Pirelli to test with, so skinny-winged mule machines have had to be used.

Although the overall downforce levels of these mule cars are relatively close to 2026 specifications, because the new machines are so different it is still difficult for Pirelli to correctly reproduce the loads its new tyres will be subjected to.

“The only thing we can do is to continuously ask for updated 2026 simulations from the teams, basically,” Pirelli's motorsport chief Mario Isola told Autosport in early February.

“We must update our know-how and update our construction according to the data that we receive.

“We cannot just rely on the mule cars because it won’t be sensible, and we will continue to provide them a virtual model of the tyre to use in their simulators and they come back to us with their feedback. And this is the right direction we should continue in.”