What Tyres Are Used in F1?

Like car tyres, the tyres used in the Formula 1 events are the only part of the car that touch the tarmac.

This makes the tyre choices during an F1 race a critical part of the race.

We’ve compiled a list of some of the more common questions which are asked about F1 tyres, to let you know everything you need to know about these crucial black circles!

What type of tyres do F1 cars use?

In the current 2024 season, F1 cars have a choice of 5 types of tyres, all supplied by Pirelli.

These are categorised as the following (with their corresponding colour code):

• Softs (Red)
• Mediums (Yellow)
• Hards (White)
• Intermediate (Green)
• Full Wet (Blue)

Teams have access to 13 sets of tyres each weekend. This is made up of a selection between eight softs, three mediums, and two hards.

As a general overview, trust me there could be pages written on the technical detail, the 3 main tyre types could be summed as the soft are the tyres that deliver the most grip, but wear out the fastest.

The hard tyres on the other hand will last the longest, but do not deliver as much grip.

Medium, as you might expect are somewhere in between, offering a good performance in terms of grip and longevity – but not excelling in either.

As for the wet and intermediate, these are used when there are wet conditions. Or has been wet conditions recently.

What are the C1 to C5 tyres in F1?

So, we’ve looked at the names of the tyre categories, but you may have seen C numbers coming up in conversations around tyres and be wondering what the heck these are!

The slick tyres (those without tread – soft, medium & hard) are further categorised by these C numbers.

In total there are 5 slick compounds (compounds being makeup of the tyre) and the numbers refer to hard or soft the tyre is.

Tyres are coded C1 (the hardest) to C5 (the softest). To make things a little bit more complicated, the tyres used on a racetrack can be tailored to the conditions of that track.

For example, if a track is in a particularly hot country, Pirelli may bring the C1, C2 and C3 tyres – as these are harder and will last longer. Another weekend they may bring the tyres C3, C4 and C5.

So, a tyre in the middle of these 2 ranges can be marked down differently race to race.

In the first example, C3 would be considered the soft tyre, but in the second example it would be considered the hard tyre.

Why is Pirelli the only F1 tyre?

For a long time F1 would use different tyre brands in the season. The teams would select which manufacturer they wanted and use their tyres. However, in 2007 the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) decided to introduce a new rule which meant there was only one single-tyre supplier.

The aim being to prevent competition between suppliers opting for maximum performance over safety.

Pirelli has been the sole supplier to F1 since 2011. They have a current contract with the F1 World Championship which takes them up to the end of 2027.

At this point they will either sign a new contract, extending their partnership, or a new supplier will be sought.

What is the two tyre rule in F1?

The two-tyre rule states that a car must use two different types of tyres during a race.

However, this is not enforced when it rains, and wet or intermediate tyres are required.

As well as this following the end of each free practice, teams must hand in two sets of tyres, leaving seven for qualifying and the race.