The subject was additionally a key factor of the latest F1 tyre tender course of launched by the FIA, and which coated the 2025-’28 seasons.
Nonetheless, lengthy earlier than it submitted its profitable tender bid Pirelli had already established its sustainability credentials. Certainly, in November 2021 it grew to become the primary tyre firm to obtain a three-star certification underneath the FIA’s Environmental Accreditation Programme.
“We bought the FIA certification a couple of 12 months earlier than the tender,” says Pirelli director of motorsport Mario Isola.
“So we already began nicely earlier than the tender to work round sustainability. And if we discuss sustainability within the firm, we began with the primary actions on this course a few years in the past.
“For instance, our factories use electrical energy from renewable sources, and that’s not one thing you are able to do from someday to a different. It’s a lengthy journey, and we have now extra plans for the long run.”
Mario Isola, head of Pirelli Motorsport
Picture by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Pictures
There are a number of points to Pirelli’s F1 sustainability initiatives, and one of many key parameters includes the merchandise which can be utilized in manufacturing.
In parallel with its profitable tender bid Pirelli achieved one other vital milestone when its 2024 F1 tyres have been licensed by the Forestry Stewardship Council.
“The FIA three-star is a certification that you must fulfil some necessities for, and also you get the certification,” says Isola.
“Nonetheless, the sustainability technique for the corporate is one thing that’s fully separate from the three-star.
“For instance, there isn’t a requirement to have an FSC tyre. It was our undertaking to introduce an FSC-certified tyre in F1, as a result of that is a part of an exercise we began with BMW in 2021, with a street tyre that was the primary to be licensed by the FSC.
“And as a pure extension of that we have been additionally evaluating to make use of this certification for F1 tyres, and we have been working within the course to get this certification.
“It reveals that we respect numerous circumstances in all of the life cycle of a tyre, from the rubber plantation, how we extracted the rubber from the bushes, the respect of biodiversity, the respect of the native inhabitants, how we use this rubber.
“They observe all of the life cycle of the tyre to the tip of life, which is the way in which we recycle them.”
Pirelli additionally pays shut consideration to the complicated mixture of elements used within the manufacture of its F1 tyres.
“That is a part of a standard, for example, improve of our supplies,” says Isola. “Clearly some elements that a few years in the past have been permitted are actually not permitted.
“It is in all probability one thing that’s not seen, however yearly, we take a look at some prototypes and options which can be changing supplies with new ideas that impression the atmosphere much less.
“Our well being and security division pays plenty of consideration to that. And yearly they provide us targets to interchange some supplies with higher ones, which we normally do, irrespective of recent rules and so forth.”
Every season Pirelli has to move tens of 1000’s of tyres world wide, and a 24-race schedule, with the bulk now happening exterior Europe, makes that an enormous problem. Decreasing the carbon footprint related to getting its tyres to circuits is a key goal for the corporate.
Here is an FSC tire for F1: Pirelli labored for sustainability with out there being a certification requirement
Picture by: Pirelli
“If we discuss logistics, we transport nearly all of our tools and tyres – greater than 90% – with sea freight,” says Isola. “We decreased the air freight already a few years in the past.
“In Europe, our trailers are the most recent Euro 6E normal. All of the fleet could be very new, and with probably the most environment friendly vehicles.”
Typically circumstances nonetheless drive Pirelli to move tyres by air, however that solely happens when it’s completely obligatory.
“It occurs,” says Isola. “This 12 months we have now been obliged to fly some tyres, due to the Pink Sea freight state of affairs, and sadly, it was not attainable to reschedule the cargo with a purpose to ship the tyres on the proper time for the primary Asian races.
“Now the state of affairs is extra underneath management, and we have come again to a state of affairs the place we sea freight all of the tools.”
Decreasing the variety of tyres that really need to be manufactured and therefore transported is an apparent approach to handle the carbon footprint.
Previously the wastage of unused moist tyres on the finish of a dry race weekend was a irritating challenge.
Whereas in Europe they could possibly be transported to the next race by truck, nonetheless mounted on rims, that wasn’t attainable for flyaway occasions. As soon as dismounted, they have been not usable, due to potential injury to their beads.
The answer pursued by Pirelli was to make modifications that averted such injury and meant that unused moist tyres could possibly be dismounted, shipped with out rims, and remounted at a later race weekend.
“That was an experiment final 12 months,” says Isola. “It is a common process this 12 months. Because of some modifications we made on the bead and on the becoming machines, we will now dismount the moist and intermediate tyres with out damaging them, so we will re-use them.
“For instance, originally of the season we had dry races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and people tyres have already been checked after dismounting them, and they’re already on the way in which for a race within the second half of the season.
“So this batch of tyres goes to Austin or Mexico, and we do not have to fabricate new ones. Clearly, that has a constructive impression – we save round 2-3000 tyres over the season, relying on the climate circumstances.
Pirelli full moist tires that may now be put again on rims if not in use
Picture by: Erik Junius
“It’s difficult, as a result of we have now to observe the calendar, and our logistics division works exhausting with a purpose to make an environment friendly schedule for these tyres to be re-used at one other race.”
Pirelli is at all times searching for methods to scale back the variety of tyres required on a race weekend, and that features potential rule modifications, though it is by no means straightforward to persuade the groups to chop again.
“Clearly, this has an impression on manufacturing and cargo,” says Isola. “There was a plan final 12 months with the choice tyre allocation to scale back two units of slick tyres per automotive per occasion. That was, in my view, fairly a very good plan.
“On the finish of the 12 months it was determined to desert this concept for numerous causes, however I consider that the subject of lowering the variety of tyres that we use throughout a race weekend remains to be on the desk for 2026.
“Nonetheless, the groups do not like change, and for them it is higher to have extra tyres, as a result of they’ve extra prospects for testing.”
Much less apparent than race weekend utilization are the steps Pirelli has taken by way of lowering the variety of growth tyres it produces for observe testing, due to more and more subtle simulation instruments.
It may be in comparison with the way in which F1 groups use CFD to scale back the variety of wing iterations which can be truly manufactured and tried within the wind tunnel and on observe.
“Virtualization is vital for sustainability,” says Isola. “Because of the digital fashions that we have now developed, particularly with F1 after which prolonged to GT street tyres, we will speed up growth, however we will additionally lower the variety of bodily prototypes we produce.
“If we discuss creating the 18-inch F1 tyres, we examined 70 specs of tyre nearly, and we examined 30 on-track.
“So clearly this has an impression on the variety of bodily prototypes you must produce, and this has an impression on sustainability.”
One initiative that has had a transparent profit by way of energy utilization is the discount in the usage of blankets. They’ve already been faraway from moist tyres, and intermediates are set to observe that route when FIA approval has been attained.
Whereas plans to drop blankets for dry tyres have been placed on maintain following final 12 months’s testing programme it is value noting that they now eat much less electrical energy on a race weekend than they beforehand did.
“We labored to develop a dry tyre capable of work with out blankets,” says Isola. “It is nonetheless a undertaking that we take into consideration. Eradicating the blankets is an effective message, for positive.
“We already decreased the temperature and the time that tyres keep within the blankets, and this clearly reduces the electrical energy that’s wanted. If I make a comparability with 2019, again then we have been heating tyres at 100C for 3 hours, and now it is 70C for 2 hours.
“We saved greater than 50% of the electrical energy that we utilized in 2019, so there may be this discount. We’re not heating the acute wets, and the plan can be to take away the blankets as quickly as we will on the intermediates.”
What occurs to F1 tyres after they’ve been used is one other vital challenge, and one which Pirelli has addressed.
“Previously after we began with F1 we have been burning tyres and producing vitality,” says Isola. “Now we ship all of the tyres again to UK, the place we crush them, and we use this materials as a secondary uncooked materials to supply new functions, like plastic flooring, like tarmac, and different functions. It’s extra environment friendly.
“We’ve got plans for the long run, and we’re additionally testing some new processes to make it much more environment friendly. The ultimate goal is to make use of these supplies once more in tyres.”
Pirelli has left no stone unturned in its quest to handle sustainability, and that extends past the tyres themselves to all points of its race weekend operations.
“A number of years in the past we eliminated any single use plastic from our operation,” says Isola. “And we have now some elements of our staff package which can be made with recycled materials – for instance, our sneakers and baggage.
“And we are attempting to increase this strategy with any small element that has effects on our operation. So sustainability just isn’t a single motion.”