Strategy · Updated for 2026
F1 tyre allocations explained
How a limited set of slick, intermediate and wet tyres must cover an entire race weekend.
Quick answer
Each driver receives a regulated weekend allocation of dry and wet-weather tyre sets. Teams must plan practice, qualifying and the race because using or returning a set changes what remains available.
The weekend inventory
The current rules assign slick, intermediate and full-wet sets to each car. Formula 1's official tyre guide gives the live quantities and any event-specific exception.
Returns and usage
Teams return designated sets at specified stages, preventing them from saving the entire allocation for qualifying and the race. A used tyre may still be strategically valuable.
Planning backwards
Engineers begin with likely race strategies, then decide how many laps each compound can spend in practice without compromising the competitive sessions.