Isola: We had to completely redesign the tires.

      Pirelli's head of motorsport Mario Isola on the characteristics of the circuit in Qatar and the 2026 tyres…

      Question: Mario, before the weekend you limited the distance for each set of tyres – no more than 25 laps. What is the reason?

      Mario Isola: That decision was made last year. Back then there were several punctures during the race, and when we inspected the rubber after the finish it was worn to 100% and even beyond. Already on Saturday after the sprint it was clear that after 25–26 laps the tyres were very worn. Thus, during the race, after 34–35 laps the tyres were effectively running on a high-load circuit without tread. And when you run without tread, the risk of puncture increases. So we decided to limit the distance.

      Question: We've been in this situation a couple of years ago. Back then the limit was 18 laps, right? Why was it increased to 25 this time?

      Mario Isola: Because that was a different problem. Two years ago the tyre sidewalls were being damaged on the kerbs. We asked for the kerbs to be modified, which was done. There were no more sidewall damages. Now the distance is limited due to excessive wear, especially on the front-left tyre.

      Question: How difficult is it to develop new tyres for 2026 without a real car built to the new regulations?

      Mario Isola: We've already faced this situation when we moved from 13- to 18-inch wheels, or with wider tyres in 2017. It was important to work with the teams not only on track but also with a virtual tyre model in the simulator. We received information on the expected characteristics of the car and worked in parallel in the virtual environment and on-track. The tyre construction was homologated in September, and now we have decided on the compounds for next year.

      Question: What are the features of the new compounds?

      Mario Isola: We homologated five compounds from C1 to C5 with a good time gap per lap between them. Not knowing the cars, we of course wanted a bigger gap between the compounds than today. In addition, they differ significantly in terms of wear. The idea was to be able to move to softer or harder compounds depending on what we see in the first races of next season.

      Question: You said there will be five compounds in 2026. Does that mean the experiment with C6 is over? Could you explain a bit more why you abandoned C6 and didn't develop that idea further, which at first seemed good?

      Mario Isola: Simply because the C6 we made was too close to the C5 — there was no point in using both. At this stage it makes no sense to have the extra compound, but we will continue to pursue C6 for 2027 as soon as we have an idea of next year's car characteristics. And, of course, next year we will be able to run tests with real cars to get more precise feedback.

      Question: Next year the tyres will still be on 18-inch wheels, but they will be narrower. How did that affect their performance in tests?

      Mario Isola: We had to completely redesign the tyres, optimising the contact patch. Obviously, because of the new aerodynamics we expect higher speeds on the straights with roughly the same cornering loads. That means overheating can become an issue. We worked to minimise overheating, which, as we know, drivers dislike, while still preserving some thermal degradation. The goal was clear, but achieving it with a smaller tyre size is a bit more difficult.

      Question: Do you have any plans for how quickly you will be able to react if changes are required in 2026?

      Mario Isola: For next year we have the usual plan of 40 days of testing with all the teams. The plan has already been decided and communicated to the teams. We will not be able to change the allocation of compounds for the first five races. Our logistics are very complicated; we produce tyres for nine days of winter testing and the first five races, which take place in different countries. But depending on the results of the first five races we can change the choice of compounds in the second half of the year. If we want to make the tyres a bit harder or softer, we have some flexibility.