Pirelli plans to change the softest C6 compound.

      This season Pirelli introduced the softest C6 compound for the first time. Not all drivers liked the new tyres, and in Baku Max Verstappen even said that Pirelli should have “left those tyres at home.”

      The Italian company listened to the criticism, and Pirelli’s head of motorsport Mario Isola said that the C6 compound will be changed in 2026.

      “I’ve seen the comments. I haven’t had the chance to speak with Max yet, but I will do that later,” Isola said. “In any case, it’s not an urgent matter, because we no longer plan to bring C6 to races this year.

      There were positive aspects to C6, because in Baku and at other tracks this compound made qualifying less predictable. Some drivers did runs on C6, some on C5. We saw that in terms of speed C6 is better than C5, but the difference isn’t very large — only a few tenths.

      We fully acknowledge the fact that at the moment the difference between C5 and C6 is minimal. Our goal is to slightly increase the gap between the two compounds and to give C6 a more attractive position.

      This year we are using C6 for the first time. We’ve drawn conclusions from the experience, and when we homologate the compounds for next season they will be different.”