What Are the Tyre Options for the 2026 United States GP?

Formula 1 heads to Austin Texas for the United States Grand Prix, a standard weekend with three practice sessions around the Circuit of the Americas.

The 5.513-kilometre track puts the tyres under strain in different ways. Pirelli says the front tyres face particular stress in the fast, direction-changing first sector, while the rears are likely to suffer thermal degradation in the third sector, where many acceleration zones follow slow corners. Pirelli expects tyre wear, rather than graining, to be one of the key factors over the weekend.

Pirelli has selected the C2 as the Hard, C3 as the Medium and C4 as the Soft, a step harder across the range than in Singapore. It is also a change from last year’s selection, when the C1 was the Hard and saw little use. The C2 could favour long stints and a likely one-stop race, though if temperatures rise, increased degradation could open the door to alternative strategies.

Here’s how this weekend’s allocation looks for the trip to Austin:

Drivers reaching Q3 will also receive an extra set of Softs. Teams also have Intermediate and full Wet tyres available if the weather turns. All drivers must use at least two different tyre compounds during a dry Grand Prix.

What are the 2026 F1 Tyres?

The Pirelli tyres for 2026 are 18-inch wheels. Front tyres are 705mm in height and 280mm in width (a 25mm decrease from previous years) and rear tyres are now 710mm in height and 375mm in width (a 30mm reduction from previous seasons).

In 2026, there will be five compounds of dry tyres to choose from across the season – C1, C2, C3, C4 and C5.