Pirelli splits Monaco and Barcelona tyre approach

Pirelli has confirmed sharply contrasting tyre selections for Formula 1’s next two 2026 race weekends, keeping its softest available trio for Monaco while going a step softer than last year in Barcelona to try to increase pit-stop variation.

For Monaco, Pirelli will bring C3 as the hard, C4 as the medium and C5 as the soft. It described that as the softest set in its 2026 range, a choice shaped by a circuit with the lowest average speed on the calendar and a very smooth street surface that generates almost no degradation.

Pirelli said the Monte Carlo decision followed directly from those track characteristics, calling it a venue where “the Monte Carlo circuit has the lowest average speed of the entire calendar. The race winds through the city streets on a very smooth asphalt surface, which means the tyres experience practically no wear.”

Even so, Monaco’s allocation is effectively harder than it was a year ago. In 2025, Pirelli used C4, C5 and C6 in the principality, but the C6 tyre has been dropped from the 2026 range, so this year’s Monaco selection shifts to C3, C4 and C5.

Barcelona moves in the opposite direction. Pirelli has selected C2 as the hard, C3 as the medium and C4 as the soft, one step softer than the 2025 choice of C1, C2 and C3.

That change is a deliberate attempt to shape the race. Pirelli said the Spanish circuit places heavy demands on tyres because of its many fast, long-radius corners and temperatures that promote thermal degradation. With what it called a more consistent tyre range this year, the company said the selection is intended to “encourage a higher number of pit stops during the race.”

The split approach underlines the different challenge teams will face across the back-to-back weekends: Monaco remains defined by low wear even with a nominally harder set than last year, while Barcelona’s softer allocation is meant to push strategy more aggressively on one of the calendar’s most tyre-sensitive tracks.