BIG PICTURE FORMULA 1 RETURNS Pirelli tires laid out for F1 testing in Sakhir, Bahrain. The tire maker recently agreed to continue as exclusive F1 supplier and will now provide tires until 2027, with the possibility of a further one-year extension. The Italian manufacturer took on the role as sole supplier in 2011 and will have been in F1 for 18 seasons at the end of the latest agreement. From the start of the 2024 season, all the tires used in the F1 World Championship will be marked with the FSC logo. This certifies that all the natural rubber within the tires complies with stringent environmental and social criteria required by the Forest Stewardship Council. “The debut of our FSC-certified tires in the world of motorsport represents a significant moment in Pirelli’s sustainability journey,” remarked Giovanni Tronchetti Provera, Pirelli executive vice president of motorsport, sustainability and future mobility. “In 2021 we were first to equip a road car with FSC-certified tires, and now we are proud to be the first to do so in motorsport as well. Formula 1 is an extraordinary open-air laboratory for us. It allows us not only to design and test new technology and improve research and development processes for roadgoing tires, but also to unite maximum performance, typical of the demanding motorsport environment, with commitment toward an increasingly sustainable world.” 4 www.tiretechnologyinternational.com March 2024