Pirelli concludes new F1 tire supply deal

Pirelli has finally concluded its Formula 1 tire supply contract with the FIA, meaning it will continue in the sport for the next three years.

Although the Italian tire manufacturer had originally agreed a five-year commercial deal with Bernie Ecclestone and the teams, the FIA only agreed to a three-year extension.

Discussions with Pirelli to frame the new deal were extensive, however, because Pirelli wanted changes to F1's sporting regulations to help improve the way it could go about doing its job.

In particular, it was unhappy that F1's strict testing limitations meant it was unable to get enough on-track data, which became a major issue last year during the early stages of the year when there were delamination issues. As a result, changes to F1's Sporting Regulations mean one of this year's pre-season test days will be devoted to wet-weather tire testing, and teams must give up one of their eight in-season test days exclusively for tires.