The start of a new year means it’s prediction time. Yesterday, I went through how my predictions from January 2025 fared. And today, it’s time for the first part of my predictions for 2026.
It is going to be a bit of a strange year. The last year of Michelin as official tire supplier means the tires will be pretty much identical to the ones raced in the last two seasons. And with the arrival of new technical rules in 2027 – 850cc engines, no ride-height devices, reduced aerodynamics – along with Pirelli taking over from Michelin, the manufacturers have an awful lot of work to do.
What this means is that the factories will have to make choices. Focus on this year’s bike, or put all of their effort into developing their 2027 machine? That makes getting this year’s bike right even more important. They are likely to be stuck with the bike that turns up at the Sepang test, with every little development happening through the year.
