Formula 1 has had as many as eight tire manufacturers since its first season back in 1950. While F1 used multiple tire suppliers for the longest of times, since 2007 only one has been used each season. Between 2007 and 2010, F1 had an agreement with $24,100,000,000 worth tire company Bridgestone. Once this agreement ended in 2010, F1 has only used Pirelli since then. And now it seems that Pirelli and Bridgestone will once again be at it again to secure the next deal.
As things stand, Pirelli’s current deal with F1 will last until the end of the 2024 season. And once this term is completed, negotiations will once again open for the three seasons after. Pirelli will hope to once again win the deal with F1, having been one of the sport’s oldest tire suppliers.
The Italian tire manufacturer company has had multiple spells in F1 as they had stints in the 1950s, 1980s, 1990s, and now their latest deal that began in 2011. However, with reports stating that Bridgestone is keen on making their return as F1’s tire supplier, a war could once again begin between the two brands.
Can Bridgestone challenge Pirelli for F1 deal?
Pirelli has seemingly established their dominance in F1 as they have been the sport’s suppliers for the past 12 seasons. Hence, it is likely that it would be very difficult for any competitor to threaten them.
However, with the rules set to change from the 2026 season onwards, F1 expert Joe Saward believes that $24,100,000,000 worth tire company Bridgestone can challenge Pirelli. This is because he believes that since Bridgestone is a far bigger company than Pirelli, they will have more resources to adjust to the rule changes in the sport.
Saward notes in his blog, Joe Blogs F1, that Bridgestone is the second biggest tire manufacturer in the world, only behind Michelin, which has revenues of over $26.37 billion. Meanwhile, Pirelli is only the sixth largest with revenues of $5.9 billon.
#AMuS | Em Spa, a FIA, a Fórmula 1 e as equipes decidem se os pneus serão usados sem cobertores elétricos em 2024.
Esta decisão também pode depender se Pirelli ou Bridgestone receberá o contrato de fornecimento a partir de 2025. pic.twitter.com/bKypK5vFES
— Mercedes-AMG F1 Brasil 🇧🇷 (@MercedesAMGF1BR) July 26, 2023
And another reason why Saward believes that Formula 1 can go back to Bridgestone is because of the dilemma F1 currently faces. He notes that since Pirelli would perhaps only be looking for one final deal in the sport, F1 may choose Bridgestone to ensure continuity.
Saward believes that the last thing F1 will want is to find themselves without a tire supplier once the next deal ends in 2027. It is this reason why Saward believes that a war could once again begin in F1 between two of the sports’ oldest tire suppliers.
Bridgestone has successfully emerged victorius in tire wars previously
Bridgestone is currently the third most successful tire manufacturer in the sport with 175 race victories. They are only behind Pirelli (295) and Goodyear (368). And it is pertinent to note that most of their wins came when they competed in two different tire wars that began in the late 1990s.
Bridgestone reentered F1 in the 1997 season and first went up against Goodyear, which continues to be the most successful tire manufacturer in the sport’s history. In the first season of the tire war, Goodyear won all 17 races. However, Bridgestone fought back in the next season by winning 9 races as compared to Goodyear’s 7.
With Goodyear losing, Bridgestone emerged as the sole tire manufacturer for F1 in 1999 and 2000 before Michelin challenged them from the 2001 season onwards. The two tire manufacturers competed against each other for six seasons, with Bridgestone winning in four of them while Michelin won in the other two seasons.
Once this tire war ended in 2006, F1 has had only one tire manufacturer from the 2007 season onwards. However, with the rules set to change in the 2026 season onwards, it will be interesting to see if Bridgestone does indeed reignite a tire war with Pirelli.
