Pirelli confirms tyre compounds for the 2026 Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Pirelli has confirmed the tyre compounds that will be used throughout the 2026 Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend at Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Brazil. For the event, the hard tyre will be compound C3, the medium will be C4 and the soft will be C5, marking a shift toward the softer end of Pirelli’s range compared with the same type of Sprint-weekend selection used last season.

Under Pirelli’s allocation for the weekend, drivers will receive two sets of the hard tyre (marked white), three sets of the medium tyre (marked yellow) and eight sets of the soft tyre (marked red). The allocation also includes access to the green intermediate tyre and the blue full wet tyres if conditions require them.

Pirelli’s weekend guidance adds that an extra set of soft tyres is reserved for drivers who reach Q3 in Qualifying. For the race, the rules require each driver to use at least two different slick compounds if the track is dry, reinforcing the need to balance single-lap performance with tyre longevity over the course of the event.

Pirelli pointed to changes to the circuit layout compared with last season, citing resurfacing work on the sections between Turns 3 and 5 and between Turns 8 and 9. The tyre supplier said the newly surfaced areas could affect grip levels and track evolution as the weekend progresses, and that this is particularly relevant for how tyres behave over longer runs.

The preview also referenced last year’s tyre trends at Interlagos, where degradation was described as one of the key technical factors. Pirelli noted that while graining was less pronounced than initially expected, the C2 compound (used as the hard tyre in 2025) showed some tendency to slide, and the C3 and C4 compounds produced significant degradation, even though competitive race stints remained possible.

In terms of overall tyre loads, Pirelli said Interlagos produces lateral forces that are broadly average, combining high-speed corners with long straights. That balance, according to Pirelli, means the circuit does not place extreme demands on the tyres, with loads distributed fairly evenly between the front and rear axles. Even so, the supplier emphasized that maximising race performance will still require the right balance between one-lap pace and managing tyre wear across stints.

Finally, Pirelli reminded teams that Sao Paulo’s place on the calendar often brings rain and significant temperature fluctuations. As a result, it said intermediate and full wet tyres could again become relevant if weather conditions change during the weekend.

Pirelli’s compounds and weekend tyre approach for Sao Paulo were set out in the supplier’s official preview for the event.