Pirelli's problem in Formula 1

Tyres have dominated F1 for years. Are fans sick of it?

At the second free practice session at the Mexico City Grand Prix, an extended session was used to conduct a 2025 tyre test for Pirelli. Pirelli changes aspects of their tyre every year in response to requests by teams, drivers, and fans. The problem is it’s impossible to satisfy all these groups.

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Since 2007, Formula 1 has only had one tyre manufacturer each season. This means the sport can make requests to that tyre manufacturer about wear and speed. This was initially Bridgestone, a Japanese manufacturer.

However, problems arose over the lack of competitiveness and predictability of the tyres. When refuelling was banned in 2010, tyre wear became almost nonexistent at most races. They were all 1-stop races, and drivers would usually perform the same in qualifying and in the race.

In response, F1 signed a deal with Pirelli to replace Bridgestone. The Italian company would bring much higher wear tyres in the hope of making races more unpredictable, more pit stops, and more overtaking.

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13 years on from their entrance to the sport, Pirelli’s time has been full of controversy and complaints (like everything in F1). There were initially complaints that tyre wear had gone too far. In 2017, Pirelli brought lower wear tyres that drivers could push more, but this led F1 back to the same problems it had in 2010.

In most of the years in the sport, Pirelli has not had much impact on the championship, with most of their time in the sport being dominated by Red Bull or Mercedes. This year is different, with four teams at the front of the grid with a chance of winning races and three of them in contention for the constructors championship. Changes in these teams’ performances on tyre compounds reveal how unpredictable tyre performance is.

A recent example of this was at Baku, where Ferrari and Charles Leclerc dominated from pole on the medium tyres to build a 6-second gap over Piastri, who struggled with wear. However, Piastri came back on the hard-tyre stint to overtake Leclerc, who struggled with wear at the end of the race.

The current tyres discourage drivers from pushing flat-out. Even in qualifying, tyres are prone to overheating and lap time loss if drivers push 100%. Fernando Alonso recently said drivers could only push 90%, which has helped him to continue racing well into his 40’s.

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It creates a dilemma for Pirelli where they can’t win. Bring predictable tyres that bring predictable races and complaints from fans over lack of entertainment. Or bring unpredictable tyres that bring complicated races and complaints from fans over the importance of tyres.

It’s a dilemma that Pirelli will have to think about for 2025, and they look to be continuing in roughly the same direction. Perhaps there will be bigger and tougher questions about the new regulations for 2026 and their future contracts beyond.

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