F1 British Grand Prix: All teams braced for FIA tyre change at Silverstone

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F1 teams braced for FIA tyre change at British Grand Prix

Silverstone will play host to Round 12 of the 2025 F1 season

Kevin McKenna

Thursday 3 July 2025 13:58 Updated: 20:42

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All F1 teams on the 2025 grid are preparing for a significant tyre allocation change at this weekend's British Grand Prix.

F1’s governing body shared Pirelli’s official preview ahead of the race weekend, where the tyre supplier confirmed a different set of compounds than those allocated at last year's race at Silverstone.

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Pirelli have now confirmed the compounds that will be in play over the coming days, opting to go a step softer in their range compared to last year's event, bringing the C2 as the hard tyre, the C3 as the medium, and the C4 as the soft.

All 10 teams will have the C2 (hard), C3 (medium) and C4 (soft) tyres available to them in Northamptonshire, which is one-step harder than the compounds used at last weekend's thrilling Austrian GP (C3/C4/C5), which saw McLaren finish on the top step of the podium once again.

Pirelli’s weekend preview said: "The aim, shared with the FIA, F1 and the teams, is to create a wider range of strategy options for the race.

"In 2024, when the C3 was the soft, it was used by just a few drivers in the closing stages of the race following the rain. This year, as the medium, it is bound to play an important role, probably in several phases of the race.

"For those aiming for a one-stop race, the stints will have to be managed very carefully, while accepting a longer total race time.

"Also a consideration in this equation is the fact that the time taken for a tyre change is not very long (around 20.5 seconds) and while challenging, overtaking is possible."

Wet weather is forecast at this weekend's British Grand Prix

Title battle resumes at Silverstone

Home favourite Lando Norris comes into this weekend's event having clinched his third win of the year at the Red Bull Ring ahead of McLaren team-mate and championship leader, Oscar Piastri.

The pair are separated by just 15 points at the top of the standings, with defending champion Max Verstappen further back in third spot having lost more ground after crashing out on the opening lap on Sunday.

George Russell of Mercedes has also emerged as a surprise contender in recent weeks, and will hope to bounce back following a disappointing fifth-place finish in Austria.

Lewis Hamilton pipped his former Silver Arrows colleague to fourth spot last week, as he extended his run of grands prix without featuring on the podium, but can draw confidence from his against-the-odds triumph at the famous UK track in 2024.

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen British Grand Prix