R14 – Tyre Selection

The Hugaroring provides the backdrop to the last few days of Formula 1 track action prior to the summer break.

This weekend’s race will be the fortieth anniversary of the Hungarian Grand Prix and the Hungaroring track will also be in use on the Tuesday and Wednesday 5th and 6th of August, when Pirelli is running a 2026 tyre development test.

The Hungaroring facility is currently undergoing a major transformation. Firstly, the paddock area was refurbished and this year, the main changes relate to the pit lane and the main straight, as well the pit complex and the main grandstand.

Usually, track evolution over the weekend is very high here, especially during the first two days. Graining could put in an appearance during Friday free practice, before gradually decreasing the more the track gets rubbered-in.

The trio of slick tyre compounds is the same as last year: C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft).

Up until last year, these would have been the softest tyres of all, but this year, the C6 was introduced.
However, the new compound would be too extreme a choice for a track that exerts this level of energy density on the tyres for every lap.

The most popular strategy was the two-stop last year, running various combinations of the C3 and C4. The Medium performed best and 13 drivers chose it for the start.
Of the remaining seven, four went with the Soft and three with the Hard.