12/08/2025 17:58
Hankook motorsport director for Europe, Manfred Sandbichler, has
detailed the "real shock" the company felt when it discovered it
had lost the Gen4 tyre tender to Bridgestone. Formula E's current
tyre supplier replaced Michelin at the start of the Gen3 era back
in Season 9, but will depart the series at the end of the
championship's upcoming 12th campaign. The South Korean tyre
manufacturer has faced a unique challenge since becoming FE's tyre
supplier, with the all-electric category having moved towards more
powerful machinery. With the introduction of Gen3, FE took its
first real step towards higher performance, requiring a stronger
tyre to withstand increased power and weight on a variety of
surfaces. That challenge intensified with the new Gen3 Evo last
season, which saw all-wheel drive introduced when using 350kW.
Introducing the Gen3 Evo, brought with it more demands placed upon
Hankook in the development of its current compound. Remarkably,
according to Hankook, not a single tyre failure took place in
Season 11, ahead of its last campaign. Whilst Hankook participated
in the Gen4 tender to continue as the sport's tyre supplier beyond
next season and into FE's new chapter, Bridgestone emerged
victorious. It was a difficult decision for Hankook to initially
accept, although full focus is now on ensuring its final FE
campaign, for now, is a successful one. "You can imagine, our idea
was to stay here for a much longer time," said Sandbichler during a
RacingNews365 interview. "So that's the reason why we participated
in the tender as well. Unfortunately, we lost the tender, which is
a possible procedure. "Nobody's happy for such a decision or about
the effect [of it]. It was a real shock for us in the first
moment. "But then we had an internal meeting, where we put all the
cons and pros on the table and said, 'Okay, we have lost, but it's
a part of life.' "You cannot win every time in your life. But we
signed a contract for four years as a proud partner, and we will do
this until the very last minute, until the final race in London.
And then, with a big handshake we say goodbye."
