A focus on technology, sustainability, and young drivers on the 150th anniversary of the Company’s foundation.
Technology, sustainability, and support for young talent are the three cornerstones of Pirelli’s 2022 motorsport campaign, which was presented today. This will be a particularly significant season for the Italian firm, which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, having been originally founded on January 28, 1872.
Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Head of Motorsport, commented: “This year’s motorsport season, which gets underway shortly with Rallye Monte-Carlo, marks a turning point for us. We have new products for all our major championships, starting with Formula 1, which reinforce the close links with our road car product. We’re also continuing our mission for increasingly sustainable motorsport, in line with our company strategy, having been awarded an important environmental certification from the FIA at the end of last year. And as always, we look to the future by continuing to support motorsport’s brightest up-and-coming talents.”
Motorsport has always played an important role in Pirelli’s history, with competition being a part of it for the last 115 years. The first major success came back in 1907, when Prince Scipione Borghese won the gruelling Peking to Paris race with an Itala on Pirelli tires. Today, Pirelli takes part in more than 350 different series all over the world, while 2022 opens up a significant new technical chapter.
The Formula 1 World Championship introduces new 18-inch tires, while Pirelli has also created tires for the latest hybrid formula in the World Rally Championship, not to mention a new range of tires that covers all the classes in GT racing. On top of that, there’s a focus on different sustainability programs through motorsport, as well as initiatives to support young drivers.
Technology in the new tires
Formula 1: Formula 1 is about to embark on a technical revolution with Pirelli at the forefront, similar to when the championship was first inaugurated in 1950. After more than half a century of 13-inch tires, the size will now increase to 18 inches, playing a key part in the new technical regulations for 2022, which re-introduce ground effect.
Rally: Pirelli has also been present in rallying from the very beginning: since the very first World Rally Championship was run in 1973. The Italian firm has been at the cutting-edge of tire technology ever since, with 2022 marking the introduction of hybrid engines on World Rally Cars. Pirelli has evolved its entire range of P Zero, Scorpion and Sottozero tires to cope with the extra weight and additional power of the new Rally1 formula.
GT Series: In GT racing, Pirelli has optimized all its knowledge and production processes to create a more streamlined range of tires and increase efficiency as well as stock control. The new range of tires, called P Zero DHF, has been designed to cater for every class of GT racing: GT2, GT3 and GT4.
Sustainability
Examples of Pirelli’s environmental sustainability objectives, both in business and manufacturing, include a reduction of overall CO2 emissions by 25% by 2025 (compared to 2015 levels) and a quota equivalent to 100% of electrical energy acquired from renewable sources: an objective that has already been reached for Pirelli’s European factories, which includes the motorsport factories in Slatina (Romania) and Izmit (Turkey).
Young talents
Helping young talent to develop their skills is another important aspect that has always characterized Pirelli’s approach to motorsport, thanks to various programs in Formula 1 as well as the World Rally Championship, not to mention many other national championships.
