Formula E is not switching to slicks

Last year it was officially confirmed that the Korean company Hankook would become the new exclusive tire supplier for the Formula E teams. The first season of cooperation with the electric series is coming to an end, only the races of the double final stage in London are ahead, so it is already possible to list some results.

“We can absolutely assure you that this first season has been very successful,” said Manfred Sandbichler, Head of Racing Programs for Hankook Europe. – Since the January stage in Mexico, which started the season, we have come a long way and learned a lot.

In 2023 there were a lot of new things in Formula E in general, and it’s not just our tyres. New teams appeared, races took place on several new tracks, but most importantly, this year saw the debut of the new generation of GEN3 cars. These cars on our tires immediately went very fast – in the end this is the most important thing.”

Formula E is perhaps the only circuit racing world championship to use a universal tire with a profile that offers sufficient grip on both dry and wet surfaces. This feature of the electric series will be retained in the future.

“Such tires are very efficient both on a dry track and in wet conditions, while slicks cannot be driven in the rain,” explains Sandbichler. – Formula E is a competition to raise awareness of environmental issues. Supplying the electric series teams with both slicks and special rain tires would double the environmental impact.

This would be due not only to the tire manufacturing process, but also to logistical factors, with the need to ship more tires to different racing countries around the world and provide storage.

The partnership with Formula E is fundamental to the company as our corporate vision is to make Hankook a leading brand in the electric vehicle industry. And at the same time, our goal is to make an important contribution to the success of this championship.”