Pirelli to trial radical tyre mix at Belgian Grand Prix

For the Belgian weekend, teams will be supplied with the C1 (hard), C3 (medium), and C4 (soft) compounds, deliberately omitting the C2.

This “compound jump” strategy is designed to widen the performance gap between the medium and soft tyres to encourage a greater mix of race strategies and promote more on-track action.

The hope is that it will discourage teams from defaulting to a one-stop strategy on the hard tyre by making it relatively slower, thereby encouraging an extra stop for a softer compound.

It will be the first time since 2018 that the tyre supplier has deliberately skipped a compound and, if successful, the compound jump approach could be considered for further use at future events.

Also announced by Pirelli was the introduction of the C4 compound for the British Grand Prix, to be used next to the C2 and C3 compounds.

This brings a softer compound to the race than in 2024, where the C1, C2 and C3 were used at Silverstone.

The compounds for the Austrian and Hungarian Grands Prix remain the same as in 2024, with the C3, C4 and C5 compounds to be used.