There is great uncertainty among the DTM teams because of the new Pirelli tires, which are being developed specifically for the DTM and are intended to deliver better lap times and more tension through tire degradation in 2026.
Because the two-day test in Le Castellet on November 26th and 27th, where seven DTM manufacturers were on site to test two tire test carriers for the DTM for the first time, did not go as planned.
We hear that the Mercedes-AMG drivers had to abandon their long run attempts after eight laps because the tires were undriveable due to the “graining”. The brand with the star was apparently the most affected, but other manufacturers also had their problems. “It was similar for us,” says Emil Frey technical director Jürg Flach in an interview with Motorsport-Total.com.
“The tires were good for one lap, but they went away. One of them barely had any rubber left on it after a few laps. And the lap times also suffered a decline that we are not used to at all with the current specification,” explains the Swiss.
“You don’t need to race with it”
The fact that the tire degrades more than the previous DTM tire Pirelli PZero DHG is intentional, but in such an extreme way? Once the Ferrari’s lap times dropped by eight seconds in nine laps, another time it was four seconds in ten laps. “After a few laps there wasn’t much left and the tires looked terrible after a few laps, especially on the first day,” says Flach.
In some cases the surface of the tire heated up so much that it was completely torn open. “You don’t need to race with it,” you hear from another team – and the tenor is similar everywhere.
At Pirelli’s request, the Emil Frey Ferrari team used a softer set-up on the second day to combat graining. “That improved the situation a bit,” said Flach. “But we can’t compete with that,” he believes the current test tires are not a good choice and calls for at least an adjustment. “We have to do another iteration.”
“It would cause us more problems than doing sports”
The tire warm-up process has been improved, but “graining” and degradation are too strong – especially since, as in 2025, there are no plans to deliver more than three or four sets of tires to the teams on race days.
“I don’t think it’s in the interests of the organization to continue traveling by rail,” warns Flach. “I think we would cause more problems than doing anything for the sport.” Plus, it’s already December – and making the tires takes time.
Was it due to the low track temperatures?
But were the difficult conditions the cause of the extreme tire graining? The low asphalt temperatures of three to around 15 degrees and the wind certainly played a big role, and the tires also cool down on the long Mistral straight of the Circuit Paul Ricard.
But the chicane in the middle of the straight was part of the layout, and there is a risk of similar conditions at the end of April at the season opener at the altitude of the Red Bull Ring, which also has long straights.
“We can’t afford that,” says the experienced Emil Frey team boss. Because there are also tracks like the Sachsenring, which has fast corners and rough asphalt. “Then you have nothing left,” he fears about the tires.
Challenge for Balance of Performance
When it comes to the balance of performance, the high degradation could also pose major challenges for those responsible: While the tire-friendly tendency of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 is anything but an advantage, at least in the tire test vehicles, because only the tire surface comes up to temperature, the McLaren, for example, looked significantly better in the test.
And the drivers also play a crucial role in handling the tires, which doesn’t make the BoP classification any easier.
HRT team boss is reminded of Hankook development
One person who warns against too much pessimism despite the difficult start to testing for the new DTM tires is HRT team boss Ulrich Fritz. The former Mercedes-AMG motorsport boss is reminded of 2017, when a special Hankook tire with more degradation was introduced.
“I was involved in the development back then,” says Fritz. “At the beginning everyone was worried, but in the end they patted themselves on the back and said they had developed something great. A development process usually has a few iterations.”
He “doesn’t want to make any judgments because we weren’t there for the test, but I consider Pirelli to be a very competent and hard-working tire partner. They certainly want to prove that they can do it – and they will do it.”