Pirelli has received very different downforce predictions from F1 teams for the 2026 cars—but warns that those simulation numbers don’t reliably indicate who will be fastest.
Mario Isola, Pirelli’s F1 director, explained that the data merely show what teams expect, not their true performance on track.
There’s also concern Pirelli’s tyre development could be thrown off: if they base their design on low or wildly high downforce estimates, their compounds might be too fragile—or too heavy.