Pirelli’s new softest C6 is only good for “part of a lap” in Abu Dhabi testing

Pirelli is unsure where its new softest C6 compound will race now, after it proved good for only “part of a lap” in the Abu Dhabi tire test on Tuesday.

F1’s official tire supplier is introducing an extra soft compound to its range for specific street circuits in 2025, which it hopes will deliver better performance and open up strategy options.

The initial idea was to consider it for the Monaco, Canadian, Singapore and Las Vegas Grands Prix.

However, its capability remains uncertain after teams tested it in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and it was found to be overheating even before completing a full lap at speed.

Pirelli head of F1 Mario Isola admitted that Abu Dhabi’s track layout and hot temperatures were not perfect for getting proper gauges on it, and more will now be done before deciding where it can be used next year. Analysis is required.

“C6 was working well for some teams, or a little better than C5 for some of them, but about the same for others,” he explained.

“It seemed like it was working well in the first part of the circuit, but in the third sector, where you need significantly more traction, the decline from lap one onwards is greater.

“If we confirm this indication from the data, it means we have to consider races where we are going to select the C6.

“The initial idea was Monaco, Montreal, Singapore and Las Vegas, but we’ll take a look at the data, take a look at how the C5 performed this year and then make a decision for 2025.”

Asked whether the degradation on the C6 was greater than expected, Isola said: “It’s really difficult to understand because the C6 was only tested a few times.

“So Abu Dhabi it was important for us to understand how soft it is, and it feels like it’s good for a portion of the lap, but probably not enough to select the C6 for Abu Dhabi.”

While questions remain about the C6, Pirelli was encouraged by other findings for the new range of 2025 tires that were trialled.

Isola said the goals of the new tires to improve integrity, reduce overheating, reduce grain and have more consistent spacing between compounds appear to have been met based on early analysis of testing.

“They were running in higher temperatures, so the fact that the overheating was similar is good news because it means it’s probably lower under comparable conditions,” he said.

“There is less friction. This is another element we wanted to improve, because we had some rash this year, and we want to reduce the rash.

“We also tested all five compounds and the deltas between the five compounds appear to be fairly well spaced. C2 is close to C3, and there is more or less a half-second difference between the compounds.