BAKU, Azerbaijan—The Federation International de l'Automobile has selected Bridgestone Corp. to become the designated tire supplier for the ABB Formula E World Championship for electric-powered formula cars for four seasons starting in the 2026-27 season.
Bridgestone will replace Hankook Tire & Technology Co. Ltd. in the role, which took over the Formula E supply contract in 2022 from Michelin Group. Hankook recently was named the designated tire supplier to the FIA's World Rally Championship starting in 2025.
Bridgestone said its selection as the sole tire supplier for Formula E, covering the 2026-27 through 2029-30 seasons, will be a cornerstone of the sustainable global motorsports strategy it outlined recently.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Bridgestone's selection as the tire supplier coincides with the series' plan to launch a Gen4 version of the single-seat, open-wheel racer used in Formula E. That car will be a net-zero vehicle by design.
Hankook will continue to be the series' supplier through the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons, which will use the current Gen3 chassis. The 17-race season 10 of the championship will get under way on Jan. 13 in Mexico City and will wrap up July 21 in London. The series will make one appearance in the U.S., a doubleheader weekend in Portland, Ore., June 29-30.
Through such supply arrangements with the FIA, Bridgestone will continue to develop and refine sustainable technology and accelerate innovation to deliver value where it "produces" and "uses" tires, and then "renews" them to raw materials.
Under the company's mission "serving society with superior quality," Bridgestone is dedicated to shaping, being essential to the future of mobility through the products it supplies as part of its sustainable global motorsports initiatives.
Bridgestone said it commitment to Formula E extends beyond the racetrack, aiming to contribute significantly to the realization of a sustainable society.
"Motorsports is Bridgestone's passion. Always has been, and always will be," Bridgestone CEO Shu Ishibashi said, noting that 2023 marks the 60th anniversary of his company's motorsports activities.
Ishibashi noted Bridgestone will employ knowledge associated with its "Enliten" light-weighting technology in designing and building tires for Formula E, enabling it to deliver "ultimate customization" in what the firm is calling its "new premium in the EV era."
