F1 News
Pirelli or Bridgestone? The state of play in the battle for F1 tyres
- Ludo van Denderen
It is pretty quiet at a time normally known as 'silly season': the period of rumours about who will drive where next season. The big teams, in particular, have already decided their line-ups for '24, so very little news is to be expected. Then not in terms of drivers, but possibly on another front, there will be big transfer news. Formula 1 is still deciding who will be the tyre supplier from 2025 onwards. Pirelli may have to make way for Bridgestone.
Pirelli also held a special test after the Belgian Grand Prix, to which Aston Martin and McLaren were invited to this time. The intention was to test tyres that no longer require tyre warmers. Originally the plan was to introduce this new tyre from the '24 season, but the F1 Commission decided to delay the introduction of this tyre by at least one year.
Contract for tyres from 2024
The waiting and procrastinating may come to an end. Pirelli's contract with Formula 1 expires after next season, and it is still unclear whether it will be renewed. The FIA had issued a tender to supply tyres for the period 2024 to 2027 (with an option for another season). Besides Pirelli, Bridgestone has also applied to become Formula 1's (sole) tyre supplier.
It has already been reported in German media that Pirelli - despite an offer ten million euros lower than that of its Japanese rival - is going to get a new commitment. According to Motorsport Magazin, the higher bid does not outweigh the disadvantages of a new supplier. Consider the knowledge that will be lost should Pirelli disappear from the sport, meaning Bridgestone will have to start virtually from scratch.
Pirelli has an edge
At the same time, it is easy to imagine that Pirelli has an edge, as it was the Italians who entered the sport in 2011, at a time when Formula 1 was not nearly as prosperous as it is currently. Along with that, Pirelli has invested heavily, for example, in the development of the before-mentioned tyres without warmers. If Formula 1 chooses to go with Bridgestone, these are investments - made at F1's express request - that will prove futile.
And when speaking to GPblog, Pirelli revealed that they are still unaware of who will be awarded the contract. Speaking to this site recently, Mario Isola, responsible for Formula 1 at Pirelli, said he was confident of a positive outcome to the bids for his company: "I believe that in the last 12 years, we have been a good partner for Formula 1. Not just a tyre supplier. We always try to supply a tyre in line with their expectation. We had many changes during this period, not just talking about the big changes, the 18 inches tyres, the wider tyres in 2017, or the new power unit in 2014, along with high degradation tyres at the beginning."
It is unknown when the FIA and F1 will announce which tyre manufacturer will supply the tyres from 2025 onwards.