The Formula 1 world championship concluded on Sunday in Abu Dhabi but all ten teams will roar back to life on Tuesday at Yas Marina for a packed programme combining Pirelli tyre testing and the traditional young drivers’ running.
Every team will dedicate one mule car to evaluating Pirelli’s newly developed 2026 tyres, while a second current-spec car will be entrusted to a rookie with no more than two Grand Prix starts.
Pirelli’s focus on Tuesday centres on its fully homologated 2026 tyre range, featuring smaller and narrower constructions designed to suit next year’s drastically overhauled aerodynamic regulations.
The prototypes have been shaped around teams’ simulations of expected downforce levels by the end of 2026 – data that varied so much that the manufacturer found itself preparing for a wide spectrum of possibilities.
“It was more difficult for teams to estimate the performance of their 2026 cars at the end of the season,” Pirelli’s Mario Isola noted, stressing the need for reliable forecasts to design tyres meant to last a full year.
The Mule Car Explained
With uncertainty surrounding development rates, Pirelli opted to develop compounds capable of coping with higher- or lower-than-expected downforce levels.
To gather meaningful data, each team will field a modified 2025 chassis trimmed down toward next year’s predicted aerodynamic load. Yet these conversions can only approximate future behaviour, partly because the upcoming generation of cars will introduce active aerodynamics.
©Pirelli
Isola explained that Pirelli and the teams agreed on test limitations, including capping straight-line speeds at roughly 290–300 km/h to avoid unrealistic tyre loading. Such methods, he said, produced more consistent and relevant feedback.
The compounds themselves will not change as the 2026 tyres have already been signed off, but Tuesday’s work will help Pirelli determine which compound to nominate for each race next season. All 2026 compounds are available in Abu Dhabi except the hardest C1 and the full wet.
Rookie Running Takes Centre Stage
Save for Stoffel Vandoorne, all drivers handling tyre testing are from F1’s class of 2025, while most of the rookies who will take to the track on Tuesday were already in action during last Friday’s opening practice session at Yas Marina.
Ferrari again turns to Dino Beganovic, Williams retains Luke Browning, and Aston Martin continues with Jak Crawford. Alpine will field Kush Maini in the rookie session, while Paul Aron has been loaned to Sauber.
Elsewhere, Frederik Vesti will drive for Mercedes, with Ryo Hirakawa on duty at Haas, and Ayumu Iwasa at the wheel of Red Bull’s RB21. Pato O’Ward will once again be onboard McLaren’s championship-winning machine, with Racing Bulls entrusting its car to its future full-time 2026 charger, Arvid Lindblad.
| Team | Race drivers | Young drivers |
|---|---|---|
| McLaren | Lando Norris Oscar Piastri | Pato O'Ward |
| Mercedes | Kimi Antonelli | Frederik Vesti |
| Red Bull | Isack Hadjar | Ayumu Iwasa |
| Ferrari | Charles Leclerc Lewis Hamilton | Dino Beganovic |
| Williams | Alex Albon Carlos Sainz | Luke Browning |
| Racing Bulls | Liam Lawson | Arvid Lindblad |
| Aston Martin | Stoffel Vandoorne | Jak Crawford |
| Haas | Oliver Bearman Esteban Ocon | Ryo Hirakawa |
| Sauber | Gabriel Bortoleto Nico Hülkenberg | Paul Aron |
| Alpine | Pierre Gasly | Kush Maini |
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