Contrary to initial indications, Pirelli has decided not to stand as a tyre supplier for the WRC – Mario Isola explains what’s behind it
The cars in the World Rally Championship (WRC) will definitely use a different brand of tyres from the 2025 season onwards than in the period 2021 to 2024, because in the context of the FIA tender for the WRC tyre supplier for the period 2025 to 2027, the current sole supplier Pirelli has not submitted a bid after all
After initial indications that Pirelli would join the circle with Michelin and MRF to stay in business in the World Rally Championship, Pirelli motorsport boss Mario Isola now explains why they ultimately decided otherwise.
“Obviously we can’t be everywhere and we have to make decisions,” Isola said, referring to the fact that Pirelli has been the sole tyre supplier to Formula One since 2011 and will continue to be.
“In rallying, the spectators are a special niche, they are extremely passionate. You can bring everything to them in a period of four years. In Formula 1, on the other hand, this process takes much longer because the audience is different,” Isola explains.
Whether the withdrawal from the World Rally Championship at the end of the 2024 season is a measure to save costs, the Pirelli motorsport boss replies, “No, not really. We have a team that is explicitly responsible for the WRC. This team takes care of rallying in general. It is not the team that works for us in Formula 1.”
So why the withdrawal from the World Rally Championship after four years? “Well, before this period, the last time we had supplied tyres to the WRC was in 2010. It was good to return after a ten-year break to present our brand at the highest level of rallying. In the future, however, we want to focus on other branches,” said Isola.
And the Pirelli motorsport boss immediately reveals which ones. It will by no means be a complete withdrawal from rallying for the Italian tyre manufacturer: “We will shift our resources to the European Rally Championship (ERC) and to national championships.”
“So we will continue to develop products for rallying, because this area is a very important one for our technology transfer on snow, ice and gravel,” Isola explains, noting that they also want to “expand into the area of historic rallies”.
According to information from Motorsport.com, there is nevertheless a third tyre manufacturer for the period of the WRC seasons 2025 to 2027, besides Michelin and MRF, who has applied, namely Hankook. The choice will probably be decided at the upcoming meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council (WMSC). The meeting is scheduled for 19 October.