Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is an Italian multinational tyre manufacturer based in the city of

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy. The company, which has been listed on the

Borsa Italiana Borsa Italiana () or Borsa di Milano (), based in Milan at Palazzo Mezzanotte, Mezzanotte Palace, is the Italy, Italian stock exchange. It manages and organises domestic market, regulating procedures for admission and listing of companies and i ...

since 1922, is the 5th-largest tyre manufacturer, and is focused on the consumer production of tyres for cars, motorcycles and bicycles. It is present in Europe, the Asia-Pacific, Latin America, North America, and the

post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...

, operating commercially in over 160 countries. It has 19 manufacturing sites, across 13 countries, and a network of around 14,600 distributors and retailers. In 2015, China National Chemical Corp. Ltd. (

ChemChina China National Chemical Corporation, commonly known as ChemChina, is a Chinese state-owned chemical company in the product segments of agrochemicals, rubber products, chemical materials and specialty chemicals, industrial equipment, and petroc ...

) took controlling interest of Pirelli; with the Chinese state-owned company agreeing to maintain the tyre company's ownership structure until 2023. Pirelli has been sponsoring sport competitions since 1907 and is the exclusive tyre partner and supplier for the

Grand-Am Grand-Am Road Racing or Grand-Am was an auto racing sanctioning body that was established in 1999 to organize road racing competitions in North America. Its primary focus was the Rolex Sports Car Series, an endurance racing championship series. I ...

Rolex Sports Car Series The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...

for 2008–2010,

FIA Formula One World Championship Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one of the wor ...

for 2011–present and for the

FIM FIM may refer to: Organizations and companies * Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation * Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States * Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media * ...

World Superbike Championship Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette road racing series based on heavily modified production sports motorcycles. The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Champio ...

. Pirelli's headquarters are located in Milan's Bicocca district. Pirelli is now solely a tyre manufacturing company. In the past, it had been involved in fashion and operated in

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

and

sustainable mobility Sustainable transport is transportation sustainability, sustainable in terms of their social and Environmental issue, environmental impacts. Components for evaluating sustainability include the particular vehicles used; the source of energy; and ...

. On 4 October 2017, Pirelli returned to the Milan Stock Exchange after focusing its business on pure consumer products (tyres for car, motorcycles, and bicycles) and related services, and separating the business of industrial tyre. Pirelli's eponymous calendar has been published since 1964, and has featured the contributions of many famous photographers over the years such as

Helmut Newton Helmut Newton (né Neustädter; 31 October 192023 January 2004) was a German-Australian photographer. The ''The New York Times, New York Times'' described him as a "prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically ch ...

Steve McCurry Steve McCurry (born April 23, 1950) is an American photographer, freelancer, and photojournalist. His photo ''Afghan Girl'', of a girl with piercing green eyes, has appeared on the cover of ''National Geographic'' several times. McCurry has photo ...

Peter Lindbergh Peter Lindbergh (born Peter Brodbeck; 23 November 1944 – 3 September 2019) was a German fashion photographer and film director. He had studied arts in Berlin and Krefeld, and exhibited his works before graduation. In 1971, he turned to phot ...

Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', '' Vogue'' and '' Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and ...

, Bruce Weber, Herb Rits, and

Annie Leibovitz Anna-Lou Leibovitz ( ; born October 2, 1949) is an American Portrait photography, portrait photographer best known for her portraits, particularly of celebrities, which often feature subjects in intimate settings and poses. Leibovitz's Polaroid ...

History

Founded in

in 1872 by Giovanni Battista Pirelli (1848–1932), the company initially specialised in

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

and derivative processes and also made scuba

diving rebreather A Diving rebreather is an underwater breathing apparatus that absorbs the carbon dioxide of a diver's breathing, exhaled breath to permit the rebreathing (recycling) of the substantially unused oxygen content, and unused inert content when pres ...

s and

dry suit A dry suit or drysuit provides the wearer with environmental protection by way of thermal insulation and exclusion of water, and is worn by underwater diving, divers, boating, boaters, List of water sports, water sports enthusiasts, and others wh ...

s used by Italian frogmen during World War II. Thereafter, Pirelli's activities were primarily focused on the production of tyre and

cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

s (for

energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...

and

telecommunications Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

). In 2005, Pirelli sold its cable division to

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

, which changed the new group's name to

Prysmian Prysmian S.p.A. is a multinational company with headquarters in Milan, Italy, specialising in the production of electrical cable for use in the energy and telecom sectors and for optical fibres. Prysmian is present in Europe with 48 plants, 23 ...

. In the 1950s, Alberto Pirelli commissioned the building of a skyscraper,

Pirelli Tower Pirelli Tower (Italian: ''Grattacielo Pirelli'' – also called "''Pirellone''", literally "Big Pirelli") is a 32-storey, skyscraper in Milan, Italy. The base of the building is , with a length of and a width of . The construction used approxima ...

, in the same Milanese area that housed the very first Pirelli factory during the 19th century. In 1974, Pirelli invented the "wide

radial tyre A radial tire (more properly, a radial-ply tire) is a particular design of vehicular tire. In this design, the cord plies are arranged at 90 degrees to the direction of travel, or radially (from the center of the tire). Radial tire construction ...

", upon a request from the

Lancia Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe, which is the European subsidiary of Stellantis. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganise ...

rally racing team for a tyre strong enough to withstand the power of the new

Lancia Stratos The Lancia Stratos HF (''Tipo 829''), known as Lancia Stratos, is a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, rear mid-engined sports car designed for rallying, made by Italian car manufacturer Lancia. It was highly successful in competition, win ...

. At that time, racing tyres were either

slick tyre A racing slick or slick tyre is a type of tyre that has a smooth tread used mostly in auto racing. The first production slick tyre was developed by M&H Tires in the early 1950s for use in drag racing. By eliminating any grooves cut into the tre ...

s made with the

cross ply A tire (North American English) or tyre (Commonwealth English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a Rim (wheel), wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide Traction (engineeri ...

technique (very wide tyres with a reduced sidewall height), or

s, which were too narrow to withstand the Stratos' power and did not provide enough grip. Both were unusable for the Lancia Stratos, as the radials were destroyed within 10 km, and the slicks too stiff. Lancia asked Pirelli for a solution, and in 1975 Pirelli created a wide tyre with a reduced sidewall height like a slick but with a radial structure. Subsequently, Porsche started using the same tyres with the

Porsche 911 Turbo The Porsche 911 model series (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in ) is a family of German two-door, high performance Rear-engine design, rear-engine sports cars, introduced in September 1964 by Porsche, Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. Now in it ...

. In 1988, Pirelli acquired the Armstrong Rubber Company, which was headquartered in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, US for $190 million. In 2000, Pirelli sold its terrestrial fibre optic cables business to

Cisco Cisco Systems, Inc. (using the trademark Cisco) is an American multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, s ...

and its optical components operations to Corning, for 5 billion euro. It invested, through Olimpia, part of the resulting liquidity to become a majority shareholder in

Telecom Italia TIM S.p.A. (formerly Telecom Italia S.p.A.) is an Italian telecommunications company with headquarters in Rome, Milan, and Naples (with the Telecom Italia Tower), which provides fixed, public and mobile telephony, and DSL data services. It is ...

in 2001, maintaining this position until 2007. In 2002 the company started a range of Pirelli-branded clothing, watches and eyewear. In 2005, Pirelli sold its Cables, Energy Systems and Telecommunications assets to

and the newly formed company was named

. In the same year, 2005, Pirelli opened its first tyre production plant in Shandong province,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. This was the beginning of the group's production complex in the country. In 2006, Pirelli chose Slatina for its first tyre production plant in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, expanding the facility in 2011. In 2010, Pirelli completed its conversion to a pure tyre company by selling Pirelli Broadband Solutions and spinning off the real estate assets of Pirelli Re. Fondazione Pirelli was established in the same year to safeguard and celebrate the company's past and to promote business culture as an integral part of Italy's national cultural assets. In March 2015, it was announced that Pirelli shareholders had accepted a €7.1 billion bid from ChemChina, together with Camfin and LTI, for the company. The transaction was completed and the company was delisted in November 2015. In May 2017, it was announced that Pirelli returns to the world of cycling with a new road cycling tyre range, P ZERO Velo. In September 2017, the company announced its intentions to sell up to 40 per cent of its equity capital in an initial public offering as it plans to return to the Milan stock exchange in October. In March 2019 Pirelli announced a new range of mountain biking tyres, called Scorpion. In 2021, Pirelli introduced 18-inch tyres for the new aerodynamic and technical changes for 2022 in

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

. As of May 2024, Pirelli has a market capitalisation of $6.69 billion. On May 29, 2024

Silk Road Fund The Silk Road Fund ( zh, s=丝路基金, t=, p=) is a China Government Guidance Fund to foster increased investment in countries along the Belt and Road Initiative (formerly One Belt, One Road), an economic development initiative primarily ...

began the total sale of its shareholding. On May 30, 2024, the share price fell as a result of the sale of the entire stake of Silk Road Fund. While Tronchetti Provera's Camfin strengthened its shareholding together with other Italian investors.

Business areas

*Pirelli is focused on the consumer business, producing tyres for cars, motorcycles, and bicycles.

Car products range

*P ZERO: Tyres for ultra-high performance cars. P ZERO branding is used for dry weather Formula One tyres, along with other racing tyres. * Cinturato: Tyres for high-end cars. Cinturato branding is used for wet-weather Formula One tyres. *Sottozero: Winter tyres for high-end cars. Sottozero branding is used for WRC tyres. *Carrier: Tyres for vans. *Ice: Tyres designed for extremely low temperatures. *Scorpion: Tyres for SUV and cross-over.

Moto products range

*Diablo: Road and track tyres. *Angel: Street and commuting tyres. *Scorpion: Road and off-road tyres.

Velo products range

*P ZERO Velo: Road racing. *Cycl-e: Urban and electric. *Scorpion: Mountain bike. *Cinturato: Gravel.

Corporate affairs

Major shareholders

Pirelli shareholders as of January 2025:

Board of directors

The list of Pirelli Board of Directors:

Marketing

The

Pirelli Calendar The Pirelli Calendar, known and trade-marked as "The Cal", is an annual trade calendar which has been published by the UK subsidiary of the Italian tyre manufacturing company Pirelli since 1964. The calendar has a reputation for its choice of p ...

is published annually, featuring actresses and fashion models. The calendar also features the work of fashion photographers, including

, and

Patrick Demarchelier Patrick Demarchelier (; 21 August 1943 – 31 March 2022) was a French fashion photographer. Early life and education Born near Paris in 1943 to a modest family, Demarchelier spent his childhood in Le Havre, Normandy, with his mother and fo ...

. The Pirelli ''Internet''ional Award is given annually for the best international multimedia involving the communication of science and technology conducted entirely on the Internet. "Power is nothing without control" was the well-known slogan of Pirelli Tyre Company, and was featured in numerous television and print advertisements. Pirelli is the long-serving main sponsor of Italian football club

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

, having sponsored the Italian team since the 1995–96 season.

Sponsorship

Football

Pirelli has a history of sponsoring football teams. Pirelli is well known for its long-term primary sponsorship of the Italian football club

between 1995 and 2021. Pirelli previously appeared as a sponsor on the shirts of the Maltese football club

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

for a short time. In reference to Brazil striker

Ronaldo Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, also prevalent in other Romance countries. People Notable people known as Ronaldo include: Association footballe ...

’s usual

goal celebration In sports, a goal celebration is the practice of celebrating the scoring of a goal. The celebration is normally performed by the goalscorer, and may involve their teammates, the manager or coaching staff or the supporters of the team. Whilst ...

of both arms outstretched, Pirelli ran a 1998 commercial in which he replaced the figure of Christ from the ''Christ the Redeemer'' statue that towers over his home city of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

while in an Inter Milan strip. It was controversial with the Catholic Church. Pirelli's sponsorship of football teams is not limited to Europe, South America is a key market and as a result, successful clubs have also been sponsored by the tyre company. The

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian team

Palmeiras The Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional association football, football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes (district of São Paulo), Perdizes. Palmeiras is ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

an team

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (), more commonly referred to as Peñarol, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club currently competes in the Uruguayan Primera División, the highest tier in Uruguayan football. The nam ...

and

Argentinian Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

side Vélez Sársfield all had Pirelli as a shirt sponsor. When English football club Burton Albion Football Club built their new stadium in 2005, Pirelli became the title sponsor of the new ground. This was because the new stadium, named

Pirelli Stadium Pirelli Stadium is an association football stadium on Princess Way in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. It was built in 2005 and is the current home of Burton Albion FC, replacing the club's old Eton Park home, also on Princess Way, ...

lies next to the Pirelli factory in

Burton-upon-Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. At the 2021 census, it had a population of 7 ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, England. In 2009, Pirelli became the title sponsor of the

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

(CSL), China's top-tier football league. In 2012, the company became a major sponsor of the Russian Cup.

Motorsport

Pirelli is the event title sponsor of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and Hungarian Grands Prix and sponsored the

2018 French Grand Prix The 2018 French Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Pirelli Grand Prix de France 2018) was a Formula One motor race that took place on 24 June 2018 at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France. The race was the eighth round of the ...

. The company was the title sponsor of the

Pirelli World Challenge The GT World Challenge America is a North American auto racing series launched in 1990 by the Sports Car Club of America. It has been managed by the SRO Motorsports Group since 2018, and has been sanctioned by the United States Auto Club since 2 ...

from 2011 to 2018. Pirelli supported rally with their FIA Pirelli Star Driver program as an initiative to support young rally drivers. It was the sole supplier in the top tier of

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...

in 2008–2010, and is now a co-supplier with

Michelin Michelin ( , ), in full ("General Company of the Michelin Enterprises P.L.S."), is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes '' région'' of France. It is the second largest t ...

. Since its first involvement in WRC in 1973, the manufacturer won 181 events, and produced 25 WRC Driver Champions including

Colin McRae Colin Steele McRae, (5 August 1968 – 15 September 2007), was a British rally driver. He was the 1991 and 1992 British Rally Champion, and in 1995 became the first British driver to win the World Rally Championship Drivers' title. At 27, ...

(1995),

Petter Solberg Petter Solberg (born 18 November 1974), nicknamed "Mr. Hollywood" is a Norwegian former professional rallying, rally and rallycross driver. Solberg debuted in the World Rally Championship in 1998 and was signed by the Ford World Rally Team, For ...

(2003), Sebastien Loeb (2008–2010). Pirelli would again become the sole tyre supplier in all three tiers in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

. Pirelli has also been a sponsor of rally and the late gymkhana driver

Ken Block Kenneth Paul Block (November 21, 1967 – January 2, 2023) was an American professional Rallying, rally driver with the Hoonigan Racing Division, formerly known as the Monster World Rally Team. Block was also one of the co-founders of DC Shoe ...

Hoonigan Racing Division The Hoonigan Racing Division is a motor racing team that competes in the American Rally Association. The team previously competed in the World Rally Championship, Global RallyCross Championship, FIA World Rallycross Championship and Rally Americ ...

since 2010.

America's Cup

Pirelli was sponsor of

Emirates Team New Zealand Team New Zealand or TNZ is a sailing team based in Auckland, New Zealand, representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. The team has been branded as Emirates Team New Zealand at America's Cup competitions since 2007. Team New Zealand be ...

in the 35th

America's Cup The America's Cup is a sailing competition and the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy (known ...

(2017).

Winter Sports

Pirelli sponsored Alpine World Ski Championship and

Ice Hockey World Championship The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), first officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the E ...

IIHF The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; ; ) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries. The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey tourn ...

from 2017 to 2021. The company is also sponsor of the Italian Ski Team and of the Swiss Ski Team.

Baseball

Pirelli also was a sponsor of the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

from 2014 to 2020.

Motorsport

Pirelli was the official tyre partner and supplier of the

from

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

until the company withdrew to focus on its Formula One commitments. Pirelli returned to the championship in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, albeit only partnering tyres for a few private teams as

was the major tyre partner and supplier. Pirelli stepped up their involvement in the championship when they signed a deal to supply tyres to all Junior WRC participants, with its champions receiving a

Ford Fiesta R5 The Ford Fiesta R5 is a rally car built by M-Sport and based upon the Ford Fiesta ST road car. It was the first car homologated under the R5 regulations that were introduced in 2013. The Fiesta R5 made its competitive début in 2013 and has comp ...

with free tyres, fuel and free rally registration package for the next season's

World Rally Championship-2 The FIA WRC2 is a support championship of the World Rally Championship (WRC). The calendar consists of the same rallies and stages as the parent series and crews usually compete immediately after Rally1 class crews. WRC2 is limited to production ...

. Pirelli subsequently returned full time to the WRC since 2021 season. Pirelli was also partnered

from 2008 until 2010 before being replaced by

Continental AG Continental AG, commonly known as Continental and colloquially as Conti, is a German multinational automotive parts manufacturing company. Headquartered in Hanover, Lower Saxony, it is the world's third- largest automotive supplier and the fo ...

in 2011. The company has been the official supplier of the

GT World Challenge America The GT World Challenge America is a North American auto racing series launched in 1990 by the Sports Car Club of America. It has been managed by the SRO Motorsports Group since 2018, and has been sanctioned by the United States Auto Club since 20 ...

since 2011 and the

GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, formerly for sponsorship reasons the Blancpain Endurance Series from 2011 to 2015 and Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup from 2016 to 2019, is a sports car racing series developed by Stéphane Ratel Or ...

since 2013.

Formula One

Pirelli has been the sole tyre supplier in Formula One since 2011 following

Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational manufacturing company founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (18891976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of (), meaning ...

's decision to withdraw from the role at the end of

. Pirelli previously competed in Formula One from

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

–

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

–

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

and

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

–

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

. Pirelli also supplies tyres for the

FIA Formula 2 Championship The FIA Formula 2 Championship (F2) is a second-tier single-seater championship organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on road racing, racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the re ...

(formerly

GP2 Series The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Ecc ...

FIA Formula 3 Championship The FIA Formula 3 Championship (FIA F3) is a third-tier international Open wheel car, single-seater racing championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship launched in 2019 as a feeder series for ...

(formerly GP3 Series) and

F1 Academy F1 Academy is a female-only, Formula 4-level Formula racing, single-seater racing championship founded by the Formula One Group. The championship is a One-design racing, spec series, meaning that all teams compete with an identical Tatuus F4-T4 ...

, that form the feeder series to Formula One. Pirelli's deal is due to end after the 2027 Formula One World Championship. The Italian tyre manufacturer introduced a colour coding system to help identify the tyre compounds used by drivers during races. Each compound has its own colour, which appears on the sidewalls of the tyre. Since the 2019 season, Pirelli has used three colours to identify its dry-weather P Zero tyres: white for hard, yellow for medium, and red for soft. As well as the dry-weather slick tyres, there are two wet-weather grooved tyres: green for the intermediate and blue for the full wet. These tyres are branded Cinturato, a name that dates back to the 1950s. At the start of Pirelli's Formula One tenure in 2011, the company was given the technically challenging task of designing tyres that degraded rapidly in order to promote more pit stops and overtaking, with the aim of making the races more exciting and entertaining. However, the brief from the sport's organisers has changed over the years, as the cars themselves evolved with the introduction of the turbo hybrid era in 2014. Pirelli has faced controversy on a number of occasions in Formula One, especially during the 2013 British Grand Prix, which featured multiple tyre failures. Pirelli subsequently changed the construction of the tyres to prevent further incidents, switching to Kevlar belts. At the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix, a tyre on Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari suffered from a blowout at . Immediately after the race Pirelli claimed that excessive wear caused the blowout but following a more detailed analysis, the company said that in fact, a cut had caused the tyre failure. A number of major changes to the Formula One tyres were introduced for the 2017 season. The most obvious visual difference was an increase of width by 25%, both front and rear, increasing from 245-mm to 305-mm at the front and 325-mm to 405-mm at the rear. The actual rim size remained unchanged from the traditional 13 inches. The faster cornering speeds as a result of this change imposed significantly increased loads on the tyres. Pirelli was consequently asked to produce tyres with less degradation that were more resistant to overheating, for the fastest cars in Formula One history. A far-reaching alteration to the Formula One technical regulations for 2022, covering every aspect of the car, prompted another significant change to the tyres. With an imminent move to 18-inch rims after more than 50 years of the 13-inch size, Pirelli's 2022 tyres maintain the same tread width as before, but diameter has increased from 660 millimetres to 720 millimetres. The sidewall height is also reduced to give the tyres a more modern low-profile look.

Superbike World Championship

Pirelli is the only allowed tyre brand in the

Superbike World Championship Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette road racing series based on heavily modified production sports motorcycles. The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Champion ...

since 2004 (along with its support classes, such as the

Supersport World Championship The Supersport World Championship, abbreviated to WorldSSP, is a motorcycle racing competition on hard-surfaced circuits, based on mid-sized sports motorcycles. Competition machines were originally based on production-based motorcycles with 600& ...

) until 2026. Pirelli has also been awarded the contract for the control tyre supply in the

British Superbike Championship The British Superbike Championship (BSB), known for sponsorship reasons as the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, is a road racing championship for superbike class machines in the United Kingdom and acknowledged as the premier domestic s ...

from 2008 until at least 2010.

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

Pirelli officially replaces Dunlop as the sole tyre supplier for Moto3 and Moto2 starting in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. This was announced by

Dorna Sports Dorna Sports, S.L. is the commercial rights' holder for the motorcycle, motorcycling sport of Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Grand Prix racing. Established in 1988 as an international sports management and marketing company, it is headquartered ...

via the official

MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

website. The Pirelli and Dorna contract has a duration of three seasons. Starting from 2027 to 2031 seasons Pirelli will be official sole tyre partner and supplier to

premier class replacing

after eleven seasons.

Speedboats

Pirelli has partnered with Italian Boat Manufacture Sacs Tecnorib Spa to create the Pirelli

Rigid inflatable Boat A rigid inflatable boat (RIB), also rigid-hull inflatable boat or rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), is a lightweight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a rigid hull bottom joined to side-forming air tubes that are ...

. They have models ranging from 30 to 50 feet, including small tenders (X and J Models). Their most recent and popular collaboration has been with German Luxury Car Tuner Mansory. The new collaboration has been showcased to the public at the 2024

Cannes Boat Show Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The city is ...

and 2024 Genoa Boat Show.

Overseas investment

In April 2012, Pirelli & C. SpA signed a joint venture agreement with Indonesian counterpart PT Astra Autoparts a subsidiary of PT

Astra International Astra International, Tbk. is an Indonesian conglomerate controlled by Jardine Cycle & Carriage. It was founded in 1957 by Tjia Kian Tie, Liem Pen Hong with the name of PT Astra International Incorporated. It is Southeast Asia's largest independ ...

for the construction of a motorcycle tyre plant with a total investment of $120 million. 60 per cent of shares will be held by Pirelli. Pirelli hoped to strengthen its presence in the largest motorcycle market in the world,

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

which has 250 million motorcycles.

Audio system

In July 2018, Pirelli launched a Formula One wheel-shaped Bluetooth speaker, P Zero Sound. The Bluetooth speaker measures in diameter, weighs and has a 100-watt amplifier, a mid-woofer, a tweeter and also offers Bluetooth 4.0 with AptX for wireless connectivity. IXOOST is the manufacturer of P Zero Sound speaker, which majorly manufactures Motorsports-themed audio systems. The wheel-shaped speaker costs €2400, which is equivalent to about $2,800.

Notes

References

External links

*
PirelliTyre.com
Pirelli Tyres Worldwide

Pirelli & C. S.p.A. Company Profile {{Authority control Automotive companies of Italy Tire manufacturers of Italy Cycle parts manufacturers Automotive companies established in 1872 Rebreather makers Italian brands Watch manufacturing companies of Italy Multinational companies headquartered in Italy Italian companies established in 1872 1920s initial public offerings Companies listed on the Borsa Italiana Companies in the FTSE MIB Formula One tyre suppliers Underwater diving equipment manufacturers

History

Business areas

Car products range

Moto products range

Velo products range

Corporate affairs

Major shareholders

Board of directors

Marketing

Sponsorship

Football

Motorsport

America's Cup

Winter Sports

Baseball

Motorsport

Formula One

Superbike World Championship

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

Speedboats

Overseas investment

Audio system

See also

Notes

References

External links