Pirelli awarded a new three-year contract to provide tyres until 2027
Pirelli has been awarded a new three-year contract to supply tyres to F1 until the end of 2027. The Italian manufacturer fended off Bridgestone to secure the deal as well as an option for 2028, the deal also covers the supply of F2 and F3.
The FIA opened the tendering process back in March with the two shortlisted after they supplied detailed technical dossiers to the FIA that outlined their plans. Both companies gained approval from the governing body, and the next stage was to find a commercial agreement with F1.
Bridgestone is reported to have made a big offer, but the sport decided to stick with the current supplier. The news comes days after a weekend where Pirelli and the FIA were forced to bring in maximum stint lengths in Qatar because of concerns about tyre integrity adding to the controversy in Doha.
The FIA noted that “the targets set out during the tender were agreed through consultation with the Commercial Rights Holders and the teams, and are designed to ensure a wide working range, minimise overheating, and have low degradation whilst also creating the possibility for variation in strategy.”
This time around, the process was made more complicated by F2 and F3 being wrapped into a single package, and by the requirement for the contenders to meet tough sustainability targets as F1 heads towards its Net Zero 2030 goal.
Pirelli added, “ensures full traceability of forest-based materials along the supply chain and confirms that the plantations of the forest-based components of the tyres are managed in a way that preserves biological diversity and brings benefits to the lives of local communities and workers while fostering economic sustainability.”
This is part of F1’s long-term environmental and sustainability aims, with the sport having pledged to go net-zero carbon by 2030. Fossil fuels are to be banned from 2026, with synthetic sustainable e-fuels are set to be introduced along with a new set of technical rules for 2026, including engines which have a much larger hybrid component.
If Pirelli is awarded the extra option season in 2028, the Italian company will have been F1’s sole supplier for eighteen seasons. It’s previously been made clear that this contract will probably be its last, although that wasn’t addressed in its official statement today.
There was pressure on Domenicali from some quarters to switch to Bridgestone, a brand highly respected across motorsport, but he preferred to stick with a known quantity as F1 heads into an era which will include a rules transition.
That was despite the Japanese manufacturer being in the sport between 1998 and 2010, there have been suggestions that the fact that they would have to build two types of new tyre in the first two years of its contract as a result of the rule change.
Pirelli executive vice-president Marco Tronchetti Provera made it clear that the company is still enjoying good returns from its ongoing involvement in the sport. he said, “Thanks to the impetus from Liberty Media and the support of the FIA, the sport is enjoying an extraordinary period of growth both in terms of audience and global expansion, increasing its following among younger generations as well.”
“Innovation and technology are locked into Pirelli’s DNA, and F1 constitutes the ultimate open-air laboratory to not only try out and test new technical solutions, but also to accelerate fresh research, development, and production processes in making tyres.