Formula 1's tyre supplier Pirelli has expressed surprise at the performance of the new 2026 cars, with early simulations indicating lap times close to those of 2025 models. This follows initial concerns that the cars might perform similarly to Formula 2 vehicles. The 2026 regulations introduce the biggest overhaul in F1 history, featuring lighter chassis and altered power units.
The 2026 Formula 1 season marks a significant regulatory change, with chassis approximately 32kg lighter and reduced downforce, while power units rely more on electrical energy. This comes after four years of ground effect cars, which delivered impressive speeds but often static races; in 2025, 16 of 24 grands prix were won from pole position.
Early fears, voiced two years ago upon the regulations' announcement, suggested the performance gap to Formula 2 would narrow considerably. However, Pirelli reports positive indications from team-submitted simulations for the Bahrain circuit, showing lap times almost in line with 2025 levels.
FIA single-seater technical director Jan Monchaux noted the preliminary nature of assessments. "It's too early to say, but the teams have a lot of [data collection] tools on the cars [in pre-season],” he said. “They are not running at the weight they could reach. We don't know how much fuel they are using, but the general feeling is that the cars are where we expected them to be, maybe even better than our predictions."
Monchaux added that performance will vary by track due to active aerodynamics and energy management. "It will depend a lot on the track,” he explained. “But on some tracks at the beginning of the season, the cars will be on a similar race pace to what they had in 2025. On others, they may be a few seconds behind, it will vary. But the teams are already preparing updates. So I have no doubt that in a few months, the teams will have already made up that margin compared to 2025."
Pirelli Motorsport director Mario Isola echoed this optimism, citing the recent shakedown in Barcelona where cars were about 2.5 seconds slower than last year's race times, under non-optimal conditions. "Someone said that the 2026 F1 cars will be much slower, they will go slowly,” Isola remarked. “I don't think they will go slowly. ... We have received simulations from Bahrain that tell us they won't be far off... In fact, they will be substantially in line with the times we saw last year and that's quite surprising with such a new car."
Current pre-season testing in Bahrain began this week, with Max Verstappen posting the fastest lap of 1m35.433s on the opening morning—around six seconds off last year's pre-season best. A second test is scheduled for 18-20 February, ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix in April and the season opener in Melbourne in March.
