Are Mercedes lobbying against switching to narrow tires?

      In 2026, Formula 1 is facing a real revolution – the transition to the next-generation chassis, new power plants and tires of a different dimension.

      The width of the front tires will decrease to 280 mm, i.e. they will become 25 mm narrower, and the rear ones – by 30 mm, i.e. their width will be 375 mm. Their diameter will also change: if now it is 720 mm in front and rear, then next year the diameter of the front tires will be 705 mm, the rear – 710 mm.

      After testing the 2026 tire prototypes in Jerez, George Russell criticized them.: "The new tires are obviously worse overall, there's no doubt about that, because they've become much narrower." However, not all the riders who also took part in such tests were ready to agree with him.

      According to the Austrian edition of Motorsport-magazin, there were rumors in the paddock that Mercedes would like to abandon the transition to new tires and continue working with tires of the usual size.

      It is quite logical that the grip on narrower tires will be worse, since the contact spot with asphalt is reduced by about 8% – it is not necessary to carry out tests for this. The FIA, Formula 1 and the championship teams understood this when they were working on the 2026 regulations.

      But everyone went for it, because narrower tires mean a lower level of drag. In addition, along with reducing their diameter, this will save from 4 to 5 kg of weight. Initially, they generally wanted to switch to 16-inch tires, but they decided to abandon this idea out of concern that too much reduction in tire surface area would lead to overheating.

      Then we decided to keep the 18-inch diameter, but slightly reduce the width and outer diameter of the rubber.

      In this context, when certainty has already been reached with the transition to such tires, many in the paddock were surprised when Mercedes attempted to lobby for the idea of leaving the usual tire size. As often happens in Formula 1, there are suspicions that there are some political reasons behind this.

      But Mario Isola, director of Pirelli Motorsport, was, as always, quite diplomatic: "If most teams want to keep the current dimension, then we will do it." In any case, Pirelli has molds for the production of new-dimensional rubber, as well as the current one, so tire manufacturers will be able to respond, if necessary, even now, at such a late stage of preparation for 2026.

      However, the probability of such a scenario is low. After January 2, the championship teams started developing aerodynamic body kits for new-generation cars, and tires have a significant impact on the work of aerodynamics. Therefore, Mercedes' rivals doubt the feasibility of the ideas that the Stuttgart-based factory team is trying to promote.