What Are the Tyre Options for the 2026 British GP?

Formula 1 returns to its spiritual home of Silverstone, home of the very first World Championship Grand Prix, for Round 9 of the 2026 season. The former RAF airfield is one of three circuits to have hosted the British Grand Prix and has done so every year since 1987.

Silverstone is renowned for its high-speed corners which stretch the tyres to their limits, with sector two – featuring the fearsome Copse as well as Maggotts, Becketts and Chapel – being especially challenging for the front tyres.

After going one step softer in 2025, Pirelli has to its group of hardest tyre compounds. The C3 is the Soft, the C2 the Medium and the C1 as the Hard compound tyre.

For the first time since hosting the first-ever Sprint in F1 history in 2021, the format returns to Silverstone in 2026. This means drivers will receive one fewer set of tyres than a standard race weekend.

Additionally, teams have five sets of Intermediates and two sets of full Wet tyres to navigate adverse weather conditions. Drivers reaching Q3 will also receive an extra set of Softs. All drivers must use at least two different tyre compounds during a dry Grand Prix.

The British summer is notoriously unpredictable and the action at Silverstone is all the more exciting for it. The epic 2024 race, ran in mixed conditions, ended with an emotional victory for Lewis Hamilton – his ninth British GP win (and eighth for the Team).

What are the 2026 F1 Tyres?

The Pirelli tyres for 2026 are 18-inch wheels. Front tyres are 705mm in height and 280mm in width (a 25mm decrease from previous years) and rear tyres are now 710mm in height and 375mm in width (a 30mm reduction from previous seasons).

In 2026, there will be five compounds of dry tyres to choose from across the season – C1, C2, C3, C4 and C5.