Hankook Tire & Technology (Hankook Tire) has released a new campaign brand film that highlights its engagement as exclusive Formula E tyre supplier. The film focuses on the performance and brand image of the iON Race electric racing tyres that Hankook Tire supplies to all teams participating in Formula E, including high-performance brands such as McLaren, Maserati, and Porsche.
Season 10 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship concludes this weekend (19 to 21 July) with a final event in the UK. The final two races of the season at the Hankook London E-Prix will determine the new Formula E world champion. Leading the standings going into the final round is New Zealander Nick Cassidy of the Jaguar TCS Racing team, who currently has 167 points. Close behind are fellow New Zealander Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) and German driver Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche), both with 155 points. Fourth-placed António Félix da Costa (TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team) has also been performing strongly, winning four of the last five races. Seven drivers remain in the running to win the championship at the end of the weekend.
Hankook enters its second season supporting Formula E, and the tenth of the all-electric single-seater series, with the season opener at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City on 12-13 January. The grid of 22 drivers will all compete using the Hankook iON Race tyre. Manfred Sandbichler, Hankook director motorsport, promised the tyre supplier was prepared for faster lap times as teams push the iON Race harder in its second season.
Elaborating upon the FIA announcement that Bridgestone will take over from Hankook as the sole tyre supplier of the Formula E World Championship from the 2026-2027 season, Bridgestone emphasises that the all-electric race series will become “a cornerstone of the company’s sustainable global motorsports strategy.” Furthermore, it intends to use supply arrangements such as this to “continue to develop and refine sustainable technology” and to “accelerate innovation” that delivers value throughout the entire tyre lifecycle.
Bridgestone will return to a FIA World Championship for the first time in a decade-and-a-half when it begins delivering tyres to Formula E in 2026/27. The FIA has announced that Bridgestone will serve as tyre supplier to its Gen4 cars, which will debut in Season 13 of the championship. The Japanese tyre maker will follow on from Hankook, which began supplying Formula E in 2023 after accepting the baton from Michelin.
Hankook will showcase its iON range of specialist electric vehicle tyres at the London EV Show (28-30 November, ExCel London, Stand number ES11). The London EV Show is the largest international trade show and conference focused on the electric vehicle industry in Europe. Hankook launched the iON range in 2022, tyres with a technological emphasis on EVs leading to reduced rolling resistance, low noise, and high resilience. This means that compared to conventional tyres, the tyres offer increased range per battery charge. Hankook iON products are also designed for the high torque immediately produced by powerful electric vehicles. Overall this means a better driving experience for EV drivers.
Hankook has been recognised for its contribution to the fan experience in its first season as official technical partner and tyre supplier of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. The tyre supplier was presented with the award for best fan experience at the official Season 9 Awards Gala following the season finale at the 2023 Hankook London E-Prix, recognising its presence in the racing series’ Allianz Fan Village. Hankook welcomed thousands of fans around the world to its interactive exhibition area, which focused on sustainability and its exclusive tyre partnership with the all-electric race series.
Two of Hankook’s top executives travelled to the UK to witness the end of the ninth season of Formula E, for which the tyre manufacturer is the exclusive supplier. Sanghoon Lee, president & COO, Hankook Tire Europe, and Jeongho Park, executive vice president & CMO Hankook, joined the Formula E management and all 22 drivers for an official photo, while Jeongho Park also presented the winner’s trophy to the victorious Jaguar TCS Racing team after driver Mitch Evans’ victory the first race of the weekend on Saturday.
Jake Dennis won his first Formula E title in the Avalanche Andretti Formula E after claiming second place in the first race of the Hankook London E-Prix double-header. The British racer made it onto the podium eleven times over the course of the season but was particularly successful when the series’ tyre supplier Hankook was the event title sponsor: Dennis won the season-opener at the Hankook Mexico City E-Prix and the Sunday race at the Hankook Rome E-Prix. Dennis was crowned the first British champion of Formula E in nine seasons at his home race.
Ahead of this weekend’s 2023 Hankook London E-Prix, British Formula E driver Jake Hughes set a new indoor land speed record in a modified Gen3 car. This ‘GenBeta’ prototype generates up to 400 KW and delivers it to the track via modified Hankook iON Race tyres. Hughes called upon this power to clock a new milestone of 135.9 mph on a 346-metre indoor straight.
Formula E has named WAE as an Official Partner of the FIA Girls on Track initiative for the 2022/2023 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship season.The next FIA Girls on Track activation will take place during race week ahead of the upcoming 2023 Julius Baer São Paulo E-Prix on Saturday, 25 March and again at the 2023 Jakarta E-Prix on Saturday, 4 June. Successful diversity-focused FIA Girls on Track events have already taken place at the opening race of the season, the 2023 Hankook Mexico City E-Prix and the 2023 CORE Diriyah E-Prix.
Mono Mars is, I am told, a virtual influencer inspired by Mars exploration rovers. His quest to go to Mars has helped Mono Mars gain more than 115,000 followers, and Hankook Tire has now joined up with this Red Planet-obsessed robot to reach out to motorsports fans as part of its Formula E partnership.
Hankook Tire, new official technical partner and tyre supplier of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and title sponsor of the current season’s opening race, says it is “prepared and ready” for its engagement in the all-electric race series. The Hankook Mexico City E-Prix takes place on 14 January and is the first of eleven race weekends around the world this year that will host a total of 16 races.
Hankook will commence its role as the new official technical partner and tyre supplier of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in 2023. The manufacturer, which is taking over from the original tyre supplier to the championship, Michelin, will further underline its commitment to the series with title sponsorship of three rounds in 2023, including the season finale in London. Hankook has invested heavily in the marketing of its new line of tyres for electric vehicles in 2022, the iON series. The manufacturer will supply the iON Race to Formula E, having tested the tyre in Valencia in December.
The public launch of the new Hankook iON race will take place at the Essen Motor Show early next month, ahead of the tyre’s competitive debut at the Mexico City E-Prix on 14 January 2023. Hankook Tire is an exclusive technical partner and tyre supplier to Formula E and has developed a tyre specifically for the series that contains around 30 per cent sustainable materials.
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