Motor racing’s FIA governing body has begun a tender process to find an exclusive tire supplier for its premier Formula 1 (F1) series between 2025 and 2027.
The FIA sent out the tender documents earlier this week (March 20), covering the 2025, 2026, and 2027 F1 seasons, as well as those campaigns across the Formula 2 and Formula 3 lower-tier series.
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The current FIA tire supplier for F1 and the aforementioned other competitions is Italian heavyweight tire firm Pirelli, which has been in place exclusively since 2011 and has a contract until the end of 2024.
The brand has today (March 22) issued a statement saying the “framework described by the FIA is closely aligned to Pirelli’s motorsport strategy and so is of great interest …
“A definitive decision about Pirelli’s participation in the selection process will be taken after a detailed examination of the FIA’s document.”
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The last extension between the two parties was struck in March 2021.
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By GlobalDataAlthough the contracts will initially run until the end of 2027, the FIA has said it reserves the right “at the latest by December 31, 2026,” to extend the exclusive supply deals through the 2028 campaign. Bidders are therefore invited to “confirm that they would be prepared to accept such extension if required …”
The tender submission deadline is May 15, and the FIA has said it will make a decision as to approved bidders (only the first stage out of three) by June 16.
After the list of approved bidders is created by mid-June, those submissions will be presented “to the relevant promoters which will conduct commercial negotiations with each approved bidder …”
Only after that will a contract be signed.
Interested parties must submit (separate) offers for each of the above series – submissions that only cover one or two will not be accepted.
The FIA has said the tender’s terms “have been agreed through consultation with the commercial rightsholders and the teams, and are designed to ensure a wide working range, minimize overheating, and how low degradation whilst also creating the possibility for variation in strategy.”
The FIA has also included a requirement for “potential suppliers to supply an analysis of the environmental impact of the tires used in Formula 1, and the successful bidder will need to demonstrate best practice and innovation when considering the complete life cycle of the tires.”
The FIA currently also has an ongoing tender process for the exclusive supply of tires for its Rallycross Championship across the 2024, 2025, and 2026 seasons.
Last month, meanwhile, the governing body launched an application for new outfits to join F1 in 2025.
The series’ field has comprised 10 outfits since the end of 2016 when Manor pulled out of the competition.
The current 12-team cap on the sport means there can only be two successful applicants at this point, who will have the option of joining in 2025, 2026 (when new engine regulations will come into action), or 2027.
The process will be open until April 30, with any decisions being made by June 30.
Under the existing Concorde Agreement signed in 2020, the teams agreed to split the prize money awarded from F1’s revenue’s 10 ways, meaning the addition of extra sides could reduce their cut.
A dilution fee of $200 million, to be paid by any new entrant and split among the other teams, was written into the Concorde Agreement to combat any potential loss of earnings, however.
The next race in the ongoing 2023 F1 campaign will be held in Melbourne, Australia, on April 2.
