What Are the Tyre Options for the 2026 Chinese GP?

From Melbourne to Shanghai, and the first Sprint race weekend of 2026.

With the shortened race format appearing on the schedule for the first time, it also means drivers will have a slightly different allocation of tyres available to them compared to Melbourne a week ago.

Here’s how this weekend’s allocation looks for teams up and down the paddock in Shanghai:

In addition, teams will this weekend have five sets of intermediate tyres and two sets of the full wet tyre to deal with any adverse weather conditions across the course of the weekend.

Drivers who reach the final part of qualifying (Q3) will also receive an extra set of Soft tyres.

All drivers must use at least two different compounds of tyre during a dry Grand Prix.

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 decrease in in 25mm from previous years) and rear tyres are now 710mm in height and 375mm in width (a reduction of 30mm from previous seasons).

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

Each weekend, Pirelli will select three of these compounds as the Soft, Medium and Hard tyre. The decision is made based upon track characteristics and potential strategies.