India, March 25 -- Pirelli is all set for the Japanese Grand Prix with the three hardest compounds in its range - the C1 as the Hard, C2 as the Medium and C3 as the Soft - marking the first appearance of the C1 in race weekends of the 2026 Formula 1 season. Suzuka's legendary 5.8-kilometre figure-of-eight layout, with its eighteen demanding corners and rapid directional changes, places immense stress on tyres, making this selection essential.

Recent resurfacing work, which began ahead of the 2025 event and has since been substantially completed across the remaining two sectors, introduces a smooth but still dirty asphalt surface expected to offer low initial grip. Under these conditions, graining - particularly on the Soft compound - is ...