INNOVATION

The 2011/2012 F1 with Pirelli

2011 and 2012 were very memorable years for Pirelli.

After a 20-year absence the company returned to the pinnacle of motorsport in 2011 with a three-year contract to exclusively supply all teams with its latest range of FORMULA ONE tyres.

We came into this three-year agreement with a very clear brief, given to us by the championship promoter and the teams: to help make the races more exciting for one of the greatest shows on earth.

For the past two years FORMULA ONE has allowed us to demonstrate our state-of-the-art high technology and know-how, which has always been at the heart of our company. Our motorsport factory near Istanbul showcases some cutting-edge techniques, but as always, it's Pirelli people who make this company special.

Pirelli has already been involved in motorsport for more than 100 years, and we're also renowned for making the world's most sought-after Ultra High Performance tyres.

The Benetton era

In 1991, in addition to Benetton, which had a certain Michael Schumacher as their second driver, Pirelli also supplied Brabham, Scuderia Italia and Tyrrell.

And on June 2nd, Piquet won another Grand Prix, this time in Canada. Stefano Modena, driving the Tyrrell-Honda, came in second.

Dario Calzavara was the director for Racing Activities Management, "this new success is a confirmation that it was the right choice to take part in motor racing competitions as an important aspect in the development of our tyres.

The systematic exchange of know-how between the various sectors allows us to experiment with innovative solutions on racetracks, under extreme conditions, solutions that can then be transferred to our mass market products".

Back on the track

The 1989 racing season saw Pirelli back on the racetracks of FORMULA 1. The teams were Brabham (Modena), Minardi (Martini), Dallara (De Cesaris), and Zakspeed.

After a year of experiments, 1990 saw the partnership with Tyrrel and Alesi.

Benetton and Pirelli together again. Nelson Piquet, back again with Pirelli after six years was asked to comment, "The agreement continued to mature throughout the season.

As we realized the advantages that the Pirelli tyres gave cars that would otherwise not have been competitive, especially on certain tracks, it made us drivers and the technical managers of the Benetton team really stop and think".

The year of Brabham

In October 1984, Bernie Ecclestone announced: "...we have reached a three-year agreement with Pirelli, based on which the tyre manufacturer will work together with Brabham-BMW to develop and provide (as of the 1985 season) FORMULA 1 tyres.

We have been following Pirelli's progress with interest throughout the 1983 and 1984 seasons, and we are certain that when combined with a competitive team Pirelli will achieve the same results that it has reached in all of the other racing categories in which it has participated."

The 1985 season saw Piquet win the French Grand Prix at Le Castellet.

The partnership with Toleman (which had become Benetton) and Fabi continued, and Ligier with De Cesaris and Laffite and Osella with Ghinzani were added.

The 1986 season saw the partnership continue with Brabham (with De Angelis and Patrese behind the wheel), with Benetton (Fabi and Berger), with Ligier (Laffite and Arnoux), with Osella (Capelli), and with Minardi (De Cesaris and Ghinzani). Berger won the Grand Prix in Mexico.

However, at the end of the 1986 season, Pirelli announced that it was retiring from FORMULA 1.

The Lotus arrives

In November 1982, it was announced that, for the 1983 season, Pirelli would equip the Lotus JPS driven by De Angelis and Mansell, as well as Toleman-Candy with Warwick and Giacomelli.

During the 1984 season, Pirelli continued to supply the Toleman team.
Now driving the English car was "an excellent test driver, who, despite his very young age, gives us a wealth of useful information about the behaviour of the car and the tyres", as the Pirelli technicians reported.
That very young test driver was Ayrton Senna.

The return with Toleman

Pirelli returned to FORMULA 1 in 1981, with the Toleman-Hart TG 181 sponsored by Candy, and driven by Brian Henton and Derek Warwick.

At Pirelli, Piero Sierra was the Product Director. "After many successes in endurance and road rally competitions, FORMULA 1 can be seen as a natural evolution of our new sports plans[...]"

The Pirelli P7s that will be mounted on the Toleman F1 are radial type tyres with an asymmetric tread profile. That is, the internal shoulder is more rounded than the external shoulder.
This solution increases the manageability of the vehicle and increases tyre grip on the asphalt, due to the compensation for the negative camber which radial racing tyres require.

In July of the same year, in addition to Toleman, other teams were added: Arrows-Beta with Riccardo Patrese and Siegfried Stohr (later Jacques Villeneuve), and at the Grand Prix in Monza, Fittipaldi with Rosberg and Serra.

The partnership with Toleman-Candy continued in the 1982 season, with the two vehicles entrusted to Derek Warwick and Teo Fabi.
Collaboration with Arrows-Beta also continued, with drivers Henton and Baldi. Other teams were also added: Osella (Jarier and Paletti), Fittipaldi (Serra), and March (Mass and Boesel).

Pirelli e the "trident"

Alfa Romeo dropped out of the competition in 1952, leaving the way free for the rising star, Maserati. With Pirelli tyres mounted, the cars from the Trident had their greatest successes with the Argentine, Juan Manuel Fangio: he drove the Maserati 250F to victory, winning the World Championship in both 1954 and 1957.

The latter victory was achieved using Pirelli "warehouse remainders" after the Milan manufacturer dropped out of the competition.

A new star was beginning to shine: Ferrari. Its founder, Enzo, had driven for the famous Alfa-Pirelli team, and it was with tyres from the Milan company that the Ferrari 125, driven by Alberto Ascari, took to the track and won, back in 1949.

Ascari-Ferrari-Pirelli was the new inscindible trio that in 1952 and 1953 won everything that could be won. On the inside back cover of the October 1953 issue of the Pirelli Magazine, the World Champion baptizes the new "tyre of victory", the Pirelli Stelvio.

In December 1956, an announcement ended an era: "...after long and intense participation in motor and motorcycle racing, Pirelli has decided to stop production of racing tyres."

Technological efforts were transferred to the new revolutionary tyre: thes Cinturato.

Nuvolari: the hermit of the speed

The first issue cover of the Pirelli Magazine, back in November 1948, pictured Tazio Nuvolari. In the Thirties, with the help of the man from Mantua, Alfa Romeo and Pirelli created a good part of the history of FORMULA 1 (which wasn't even known as such yet). "Every age has its hermits and its religions.

It seems to me that Nuvolari is the hermit of speed..." wrote Orio Vergani in his article "The Life of Nuvolari", written for the magazine.

And in the same November 1948 issue, in the piece "The Monza track and the problems of speed", dedicated to the reopening of the Monza track after the war, the Pirelli Magazine took its first step into the fabulous years of the reconstruction of the car manufacturing industry.

FORMULA 1 was officially created, and the car to beat was still the Alfa Rome 158 with Pirelli tyres, driven by Jean-Pierre Wimille.

A winning team

The Pirelli-Alfa Racing Team, managed by the Ferrari Team, continued to grind out wins over the course of the Thirties, not just on the track, but also in classic road races.

The Mille Miglia was born and in 1930, the Alfa 6C 1750 driven by Campari managed to overcome Bugatti's historical dominance. Starting with Varzi , Nuvolari, Brivio, and Taruffi, the Pirelli Stella Bianca earned its nickname, "the tyre of victory".

Thanks to the commitment to motor racing competition the structure of the Stella Bianca tread began a period of dramatic evolution. In 1932, the "supersport" version was already available for racing cars, followed by the "Pescara" tread designed for use on the track.

In 1933 Giuseppe Campari drove another model with which Pirelli was to have a long history and won the French Grand Prix with the Maserati 8C.

Near the end of the Thirties, the Alfa 8C's domination was still clear. The Quadrifoglio cars equipped with Pirelli tyres won the Mille Miglia in 1937 and again in 1938.

The Trident won again and this time it was the Grand Prix in South Africa with Villoresi, in '39. Villoresi was successful again in France in '46 and yet again in '48, with Giuseppe Farina by his side.

The quadrifoglio era

On August 17th, 1924, the "Domenica del Corriere" dedicated its cover to "a triumph of Italian automobile manufacturing": the victory went to Giuseppe Campari, a driver from Milan, on the track in Lyons, France.

In Beltrame's drawing, Campari is behind the wheel of the Alfa Romeo number 10, with Pirelli tyres that were already making use of "cord" technology, with unwoven cord carcasses that improved the rubber and reliability.

In Beltrame's drawing, Campari is behind the wheel of the Alfa Romeo number 10, with Pirelli tyres that were already making use of "cord" technology, with unwoven cord carcasses that improved the rubber and reliability.

The combination of the Quadrifoglio label and the classic P2 and P Lunga was the start of a string of racing victories that would last for over thirty years.

Giuseppe Campari, Antonio Ascari, and Gastone Brilli Peri were the drivers that made a name for the Alfa Romeo-Pirelli partnership throughout the Twenties, racing on tracks in France, Italy, and Belgium.
In 1925, Brilli Peri won the Italian Grand Prix in Monza and captured the first Grand Prix World Championship.

Pirelli first achievements

Achievements did come, starting in 1921 with a win in the Italian Grand Prix in Brescia with Jules Goux driving a Ballot 3L, and then the French Grand Prix in Strasburg in 1922 with Felice Nazzaro driving a Fiat 804.

In September of 1922, the race course at Monza was inaugurated with the Grand Prix of the Italian Automobile Club. Pietro Bordino beat out Felice Nazzaro and both drove 6-cylinder Fiat 804s, naturally with Pirelli tyres.

These were the golden years of the Fiat-Pirelli partnership, but we also worked with other manufacturers such as the historic Itala and the American company Miller, taking part in races that were destined to become motor racing classics, such as the "Targa Florio" and the "Mille Miglia".

At the beginning Georges Boillot

Georges Boillot, the French driver, who on July 12th, 1913 won the French Grand Prix Automobile at the Circuit de Picardie in Amiens with a 5.6 litre Peugeot. Second place went to Jules Goux, who also drove a Peugeot. Both of them raced with Pirelli tyres.

Pirelli had already been providing racing tyres to car manufacturers for several years, but Boillot's win was the first victory in an international Grand Prix for Pirelli, back in what was essentially pre-FORMULA 1.

Director Piero Pirelli said he was sure "that all the company's employees, and especially the managers and workers in Department 4 would be proud to hear the news of our company's first important victory abroad, which offers hope for and a promise of new and greater achievements to come."