The tires selected for the first 5 GPs of the season, only one change, for Jeddah
The Italian tire supplier Pirelli has announced the tire choices for the first 5 stages of the season. The new compounds will be used for 2 races. For the other 3 races, Pirelli is maintaining the same strategy as last year.
The start of the F1 season is in 1 week. Pirelli has already selected the tires that must be used to meet the regulatory requirements by the teams. This first announcement from Pirelli reveals the chosen tires for the first five Grand Prix of the 2025 calendar.
A new development introduced for Jeddah
The teams have been informed of the tires selected for the Australian, Japanese, Bahrain, China, and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The first four races will continue with the choices made last season, while the novelty will be for the Jeddah Grand Prix, where it has been decided to opt for a slightly less soft range, selecting the C3, C4, and C5.
« Based on last year’s experience and the information gathered during the development phase of the new compounds, we wanted to go in this direction to give teams and drivers a wider range of strategic options. » explained Mario Isola, Pirelli’s head of motorsport.
In Suzuka, as in Bahrain, the option is limited to the three most durable compounds, given that these two tracks are demanding on tires. In Sakhir, we find a very abrasive surface and generally high temperatures, while in Suzuka, the circuit’s configuration with numerous fast corners exerts significant pressure on the tires. Therefore, the choice of C1-C2-C3 is maintained, whereas for Shanghai, it is slightly softer (C2-C3-C4) and even softer for the first in Melbourne (C3-C4-C5).
« In 2024, 18 of the 20 drivers had started on Medium, or C3, and an early race neutralization prompted 14 of them to immediately switch to C2, which was then the Hard, keeping it until the end. With a softer trio, we believe this could lead to a situation where there could be a mix between one-stop and two-stop strategies. » concludes Mario Isola.
6 tires in the range in 2025
As a reminder, Pirelli is required to offer 6 types of tire hardness. C1 is considered the hardest, up to C6, the softest. The difference is therefore both in grip and especially in degradation. Depending on the teams, it is also more or less easy to heat the rubber and keep it at the right temperature depending on the compounds. The teams are thus offered 3 different compound hardness levels, which must be consecutive. For example, C1 and C3 cannot be selected without C2 as the medium tire.
Tires for the first 5 races
