During the last test session in Bahrain, Pirelli gave us the opportunity to exchange a few words remotely with motorsport director Mario Isola regarding the start of this highly anticipated world championship. What can we expect from a regulatory change? Are there areas that drivers will have to pay more attention to than others?
Together with our director, Daniele Muscarella, we touched on some topics that provided interesting discussion points. The first one we propose to you emerged precisely from the words released by Isola at the end of the first test session. The Italian coach had made a curious statement: “The evidence of some flat points on the tyres might make us think that the drivers may have changed their approach to cornering.”
His words had caught our attention and starting from the fact that the sessions between Barcelona and the first week in Sakhir had not had much visibility, we asked Isola if the flat spots had appeared further ahead, with the drivers trying to make the most of the maximum speeds reached on the straight, or if they had more rear due to the different management of energy recovery.
Flat spots are for the front
But above all, had Pirelli foreseen a similar scenario? Mario Isola's answer: “We expected to have more locks on the front. You usually have them there, it's the axis where braking is definitely most important. When you overdo it and have trouble modulating braking, that's exactly what happens. Especially precisely because this year the braking phase is different than in 2025. For the reasons we know, drivers insist on the axle that allows for greater efficiency and safety when braking, and in this case the front part”.
The rear of the car suffers most from slipping
After clarifying that the front axle is undoubtedly the one most at risk of locking, motorsport director Pirelli also resolved our doubts about what happens behind the driver's back: “The rear axle suffers another effect, which also deserves some attention: skidding when exiting corners. As the 2026 cars are completely new, teams are still working on power supply. It's part of the learning curve. This power supply at the exit of the curve, with a more predominant electrical part than last year, causes the generation of slips that can be invisible even to the naked eye”.
A new effect that drivers will have to get used to. Will this be the drivers' nightmare in 2026? “The 2026 cars aren't Dragsters skating off their wheels”, Isola continued, deepening the discussion. “These are micro-slips that actually increase the surface temperature at the rear and this generates greater degradation. Which happens when you go to overheat the surface of the tire. The grip is lost”.
Fortunately, this is “reversible degradation, meaning it attenuates if the compound can be brought to the right operating temperature, but it's something they'll have to work on, because it's an area where there's performance to unlock. Both when braking and when exiting corners”.
Nothing alarming then, also because, as confirmed by Isola: “Degradation is something that can be seen. Just analyze the data collected in the last few days. Degradation is observed during long runs. Someone even made 15-20 rpm stints, also using Hard, so the data is there. Will the degradation values be the same as we will see in the race? No. There will be higher temperatures on World Championship weekends, but more mature cars. Pilots will be able to keep this effect more under control, as a result we will see different situations”, he commented on the topic.
We thank Pirelli and Mario Isola for their friendliness and helpfulness in the interview. Partial reproduction of this exclusive interview is possible after citing the author (Marco Sassara) and the formula1.it source with a link to the original content.
Read also in italian language: Esclusiva - Mario Isola avverte: nel 2026 cambia il degrado
