Aston Martin will kick off the test programme for Pirelli’s 2026 Formula 1 tyres after coming out on top in a draw for teams who wanted to become involved from the start. The Silverstone team is to run an AMR22 modified to replicate 2026 downforce levels at Barcelona on September 17-18.
Reserve Felipe Drugovich set to drive as the date falls between the Azerbaijan and Singapore GPs, and race drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll will be travelling. Thus far, Pirelli has only been testing the narrower 2026 tyres virtually, with the first physical prototypes due to be manufactured in August.
All teams are expected to participate in the full test programme with mule cars over the course of 2025.
However, there were only three spots for the initial running in the latter half of this season, and all the teams with the resources to take part – such as ongoing TPC 2022 car test programmes – wanted to be involved.
Aston Martin win the race to test 2026 F1 tyres
To cut the list down to three, a draw was made at the last F1 Commission meeting, with Aston, Alpine and McLaren all earning the right to join the early testing within this season.
“We will be the first team to test these ‘26 tyres,” said Aston team principal Mike Krack when asked by this writer about the testing. “There was a selection process, or a lottery process, because there were a number of teams who wanted to be part of this test programme.
“We were drawn first, so we are the first to do this, between Baku and Singapore, I think.
“So we’re exchanging with Pirelli obviously what the programme will be, and we’re trying to replicate the car that has been defined from the FIA according to a technical directive. I think it’s 54 something like that.
“So we try to replicate as close as possible the figures that are requested and required, and work then with Pirelli on how we go about it.”
After this year’s initial testing Pirelli will have a full programme of 2026 running next year shared between the 10 teams, and culminating in the post-season Abu Dhabi test.
The idea of having a dedicated car provided by one team for the early running was abandoned some time ago.
“That was a proposal that was rejected by the teams,” Pirelli motorsport boss Mario Isola told this writer. “So we will have mule cars provided by the teams. They have the freedom to decide which car they want to adapt, from ’21 onwards – they can also decide to use an old 13-inches car.
“The first idea for 2026 was to have the 16-inch tyre with much smaller diameter, and the much smaller diameter was more in line with the old 13-inch tyre. So they said, okay, let’s keep open the opportunity to use also the last car with a 13-inch for that. But now that it was decided to stay on 18-inch no one is going to use this.
“They can use ’22, ’23, ’24, and ’25 cars. The idea is that if we test after a race like we usually do when it’s possible on a Tuesday and Wednesday, they can modify a current car and race car to simulate as much as they can.
“They save money because they don’t have to fly an additional car for testing. For a standalone test it’s different, because in any case, you have to send the car. But for post-race tests, it makes sense to use a race car modified for 2026.”
Isola reveals complications of F1 schedule
Pirelli has yet to finalise next year’s 2026 testing programme, which, as usual, is complicated by having to work around the busy race schedule.
“We are defining a plan for next year,” said Isola. “But luckily, we have already the calendar for next year, so it’s a bit easier because we can make some assumptions on post-race tests and so on.
“We will send a draft to the FIA to understand who is available and where. I believe that everyone is going to test, because with this option to use also the current car, the race car is clearly an advantage for small teams. Maybe big teams want to use an old car because they can work around the car to modify it more. But it is their decision.”
The challenge Pirelli faces is to sign off on a tyre that will work for the whole 2026 season as downforce levels increase.
“We based our assumption on simulations we received from the FIA,” said Isola. “So it’s the latest available information, obviously with a bit of margin, because we know how fast the development is, especially during the first year.
“And when you freeze the tyre, you cannot change it for one year. So we need to be aware that our design is for the estimation at the end of 2026.”
