Why Pirelli has chosen a bizarre location for wet 2026 F1 tyre test

Bahrain’s Fake Rain: Inside Pirelli’s Wet-Tyre Gamble

How do you test rain tyres in a place that barely remembers clouds? You make it rain in the desert. Pirelli’s cooking up a full-track sprinkler show in Bahrain that’s part science fair, part car wash, all nerves — aiming to turn the “no thanks” wet tyre into one teams might actually pick as 2026 looms. If the sprinkle magic works, it could shift race-day calls, hush the moaning, and even sway who wants the hottest seat in tyres. Curious to see i…

Pirelli explains unusual circuit choice for wet-weather F1 test

Pirelli has explained why it chose an unusual circuit for it upcoming wet-weather tyre test ahead of the new Formula 1 season. The Italian organisation, the sole tyre supplier to F1, has opted to use the current pre-season venue choice – Bahrain – for its end-of-the-month tyre test. Naturally, this will have caused some confusion, as the Middle Eastern country is not known for its damp conditions, nor does it possess a sprinkler system to simula…

Wet tyres, dry desert – Pirelli’s strangest F1 test yet heads to Bahrain

In a sport obsessed with marginal gains and perfect conditions, Pirelli has chosen one of the least obvious places to go hunting for rain.

Why Pirelli has chosen a bizarre location for wet 2026 F1 tyre test

Pirelli will conduct a wet 2026 F1 tyre test in an unusual location.