Formula 1 Racing

First test of smaller new F1 tyres for 2026

2026 F1 tyre test, Circuit de Catalunya, 2024

In the round-up: Pirelli conducted its first test of the new tyres Formula 1 will use for the 2026 season yesterday.

In brief

First test for 2026 F1 tyres

Felipe Drugovich completed 670 kilometres of testing for Pirelli yesterday in a modified 2023-specification Aston Martin AMR23 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain.

This was the first test for the new, smaller tyres F1 will race in 2026. While the 18-inch wheel size will remain unchanged the new tyres have been reduced in width by 30mm at the rear and 25mm at the front.

Superlicence “would have been useful a few years ago” – Herta

IndyCar racer Colton Herta qualified for a Formula 1 superlicence by finishing second in the championship last weekend, but admitted it has come too late after the FIA refused to consider granting an exemption for him to race in the series two years ago.

“It would have been useful a few years ago,” said Herta. “It’s nice to have one, I guess.”

The FIA offers 124 superlicence points to IndyCar drivers per year compared to 201 for Formula 2 and 128 for Formula 3. “I think it’s disrespectful for IndyCar how underrepresented it is,” Herta continued. “But these are all things we know and we’ve talked about in the last three years.”

Herta clinched second in the championship by scoring his first win on an oval. “It’s about time,” he said. “I think there’s been multiple times where I thought we could have won or should have won, and numerous of things would have happened to stop us from doing that. Luckily today we got it all right.”

Rosenqvist continues with Meyer Shank

Felix Rosenqvist has signed a new, multi-year deal to keep him at IndyCar team Meyer Shank beyond the end of next season. He joined the team from McLaren this season and claimed pole position for the second round of the championship in Long Beach, and claimed a best race finish of fourth at Barber Motorsport Park.

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