Pirelli Motorsport will remain as Formula 1’s sole tyre manufacturer until at least the end of the 2024 season after they signed a one-year extension to their existing contract.
The new deal is to ensure the initial plan to run three-years with eighteen-inch tyres, which were initially set to be introduced to Formula 1 in 2021. However, the coronavirus pandemic saw the tyres delayed until 2022, meaning the existing contract with Pirelli would have expired before the three years were up.
Stefano Domenicali, Formula 1’s President and Chief Executive Officer, says that as COVID-19 changed the plans for the introduction of the eighteen-inch tyres, it was obvious to extend the contract with Pirelli for another season.
“The pandemic caused disruption across the world and Formula 1 was not immune from that,” said Domenicali. “We therefore took the necessary measures last year to defer the regulations by one year to 2022.
“We are very proud of our partnership with Pirelli and grateful to them for their constructive approach to this timing change. Pirelli are very conscious of strategic role that the tyres have in F1 and we know that they are working very hard to make sure that their products will represent the best balance between performance and durability in the new technical context.
“We look forward to the start of the 2021 season and we are all excited for the new cars and new 18-inch tyres to hit the track under the new regulations in 2022.”
Marco Tronchetti Provera, Pirelli’s Executive Vice President and CEO, says he is pleased to see Pirelli sign for another season as Formula 1’s sole tyre manufacturer, and he cannot wait to see how the eighteen-inch tyres fare on track.
“The world of motorsport has also had to face up to the difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, but the FIA and FOM did an extraordinary job to organise a 17-race championship in 2020,” he said. “We’re obviously pleased to have reached this agreement that will extend our presence at the pinnacle of world motorsport until 2024.
“Pirelli has been alongside Formula 1 for more than 70 years, since the very first race in 1950, and the company continues to invest in the highest technological levels of research and development, as shown by the introduction of 18-inch tyres from next year.
“Motorsport forms part of our DNA and Formula 1 represents an open-air laboratory that allows us to apply the know-how gained on track into our road car tyres, starting off with the Ultra High Performance range that equips the most prestigious cars in the world”.
