Pirelli is entering its 15th season as Formula 1’s official tyre supplier in 2025 and it has been a partnership with many ups and downs.
They struggled to find the right balance early on after crafting a tyre that wore too aggressively and resulted in multiple blowouts at the 2013 British Grand Prix.
After getting over that, they have been a solid partner and sponsor for Formula 1 throughout a period of sustained growth.
They’re guaranteed to be the tyre supplier until at least 2027 with the option for an extra year, which would be the third year of the upcoming technical regulations.
Recently, Pirelli avoided a situation labelled dangerous by Lando Norris after conducting extensive testing ahead of the second Qatar Grand Prix.
Their rubber struggled there in 2023 but held up much better in 2024 after a few kerb heights were tweaked to reduce stress on the tyres.
Pirelli’s C6 tyre indicates arrival of more F1 street circuits
Tyres are a key component of Formula 1 and a major talking point on Sunday’s. Mercedes’ George Russell suffered tyre issues at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as the track temperature messed with his balance.
Mercedes have struggled most of all front-tunning teams to find grip on a consistent basis but did show signs of improvement in 2024.
According to Auto Motor und Sport, Pirelli’s introduction of a C6 tyre for 2025 shows that the sport’s intentions of hosting more street races are not ‘hidden’.
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The introduction of a new Madrid street circuit to replace the current Spanish Grand Prix was made last year.
The Barcelona circuit isn’t particularly lived by fans so it wouldn’t be too much of a loss, but it does represent the recent trend of circuits.
Is having more street circuits a good thing for Formula 1?
Street circuits are widely considered to be anti-overtaking and a bit dull at times, but new ones continue to find their way onto the calendar.
Compared to the historic circuits, those confined within walls are usually held in cities, making them more accessible for fans.
It does cause a bit of an argument with the locals who have to deal with the noise and congestion that comes with a weekend.
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The Las Vegas Grand Prix is an example of that, but the sport did end up contributing more than £1 billion to their economy in the process.
The racing isn’t always as fun with overtaking more difficult to come by, but it looks like the future of the sport is already set in stone and time will tell if it’s the right direction.
