Pirelli

In 1974, at the request of the Lancia rally team, Pirelli was asked for a tyre strong enough to withstand the power of the new Lancia Stratos. At the time, racing tyres were either cross-ply slicks or radials; the radials were destroyed within 10 km on the Stratos and the slicks were too stiff. In 1975 Pirelli created a wide tyre with a reduced sidewall height like a slick but with a radial structure — the "wide radial tyre". Porsche subsequently adopted the same tyres on the Porsche 911 Turbo.

Pirelli has been the sole tyre supplier in Formula One since 2011, following Bridgestone's decision to withdraw from the role at the end of 2010. The company had previously competed in Formula One from 1950–1958, 1981–1986 and 1989–1991. Pirelli also supplies tyres for the FIA Formula 2 Championship (formerly GP2 Series), the FIA Formula 3 Championship (formerly GP3 Series) and F1 Academy, which form the feeder series to Formula One. The 2025 Dutch Grand Prix marked Pirelli's 500th Grand Prix entry. Its current Formula One deal is due to end after the 2027 season.

At the start of its tenure in 2011, Pirelli was given the technically challenging task of designing tyres that degraded rapidly in order to promote more pit stops and overtaking. The brief from the sport's organisers changed over the years as the cars evolved, including with the introduction of the turbo-hybrid era in 2014.

Pirelli introduced a colour-coding system to identify the tyre compounds used during races, with each compound carrying its own sidewall colour. Since the 2019 season it has used three colours for its dry-weather P Zero slicks — white for hard, yellow for medium, and red for soft — alongside two wet-weather grooved tyres branded Cinturato: green for the intermediate and blue for the full wet. For the 2026 season, Pirelli changed the coloured rings to a chequered-flag themed ring while retaining the compounds.

The company has faced controversy on a number of occasions. The 2013 British Grand Prix featured multiple tyre failures, after which Pirelli changed the construction of the tyres, switching to Kevlar belts. At the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix, a tyre on Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari suffered a blowout at 320 km/h; Pirelli initially attributed it to excessive wear but, after more detailed analysis, concluded a cut had caused the failure.

Major changes to the Formula One tyres were introduced for 2017, most visibly an increase in width of 25% front and rear (from 245 mm to 305 mm at the front and 325 mm to 405 mm at the rear), with the rim size unchanged at 13 inches. The higher cornering speeds imposed significantly increased loads, and Pirelli was asked to produce tyres with less degradation that were more resistant to overheating. A far-reaching change to the technical regulations for 2022 prompted a move to 18-inch rims after more than 50 years of the 13-inch size; the 2022 Formula One tyres kept the same tread width but increased in diameter from 660 mm to 720 mm, with a reduced sidewall height for a low-profile look. In 2021 Pirelli introduced these 18-inch tyres ahead of the 2022 changes.

Pirelli has been involved in the World Rally Championship since its first participation in 1973. Across that involvement the manufacturer won 181 events and produced 25 WRC Drivers' Champions, including Colin McRae (1995), Petter Solberg (2003) and Sébastien Loeb (2008–2010). It was the sole supplier in the top tier of the World Rally Championship in 2008–2010, then withdrew to focus on its Formula One commitments. Pirelli returned to the championship in 2014, supplying tyres for a few private teams while Michelin was the major partner, before stepping up by supplying all Junior WRC participants and returning full-time from the 2021 season as the sole tyre supplier across all three tiers. Pirelli supported rally through its FIA Pirelli Star Driver programme, an initiative to support young rally drivers, and used the Sottozero brand for WRC tyres. The company has also sponsored rally and gymkhana driver Ken Block's Hoonigan Racing Division since 2010.

Pirelli was the exclusive tyre partner and supplier for the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series from 2008 until 2010, before being replaced by Continental AG in 2011. It has been the official supplier of the GT World Challenge America since 2011 and the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup since 2013. Pirelli was also the title sponsor of the Pirelli World Challenge from 2011 to 2018.

Pirelli has been the only allowed tyre brand in the FIM Superbike World Championship since 2004, including its support classes such as the Supersport World Championship, through to 2026. It was also awarded the control tyre supply contract for the British Superbike Championship from 2008 until at least 2010. Pirelli officially replaced Dunlop as the sole tyre supplier for Moto3 and Moto2 starting in 2024 under a three-season contract announced by Dorna Sports. From the 2027 to 2031 seasons, Pirelli will be the official sole tyre partner and supplier to the MotoGP premier class, replacing Michelin after eleven seasons.

Pirelli is the event title sponsor of the Spanish and Hungarian Grands Prix and sponsored the 2018 French Grand Prix. It branded a Formula One wheel-shaped Bluetooth speaker, the P Zero Sound, launched in July 2018 and manufactured by IXOOST, a maker of motorsport-themed audio systems.

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