Pirelli announces tire allocations for the Bahrain tests

La Formula 1 is back for good, with three days of testing at the Sakhir circuit (Bahrain). This first round of testing will be followed by a second next week, but during which Pirelli will bring slightly different tire allocations. While, as in recent years, the Italian manufacturer's full range will be available during the second week of testing, only the hardest tires, the C1, C2, and C3, will be permitted.

Each team was therefore able to choose from these three tire compounds, the only restriction being a limit of 28 sets of tires to be brought to Bahrain. Pirelli also provides one set of intermediate tires for each team. This addition may seem insignificant in the desert, but in 2025, only two teams were able to take to the track late Thursday morning due to rain, as only Haas et Aston Martin They had considered requesting intermediate tires from Pirelli. Such a scenario is unlikely to occur this year, but everyone is prepared just in case!

During the second round of testing, all five Pirelli tire compounds will be available, with the Italian manufacturer only bringing 24 per team. However, if a team completes fewer than nine laps on one or more of its tire sets this week, it will be allowed to bring them the following week and add them to its allocation. Specifically, the C3 tires, the mid-range compound, have been the most popular choice for the teams over the next three days.

Mercedes Benz and Haas bring the largest number, with twenty trains each, while McLarenAston Martin and Cadillac opted for only eight sets of C3 tires. The two British teams chose C2 tires, with 14 sets for McLaren and 16 for Aston Martin, while Cadillac selected ten sets of C1 tires. The American team is expected to work on long runs during these first three days of testing in Bahrain, following a studious start in Barcelona which, however, did not yield a huge number of laps completed, especially compared to Mercedes, the team that logged the most laps in Catalonia.

F1 – Bahrain 2026 Tests
The sets of tires per team

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