Italian tyre manufacturer Pirelli will replace Michelin as MotoGP’s sole tyre supplier from 2027 onwards, bringing to an end the French brand’s 10-year run as the series sole manufacturer.
Pirelli’s step up to the premier class has been hinted at for some time, off the back of the move in 2024 to take over the contract to supply Moto2 and Moto3 from Dunlop, and 2027 presents the right timing given the significant changes to the MotoGP rulebook that will see an engine spec change from 1000cc to 850cc in the name of slower laptimes and better safety.
“Pirelli will become the official tyre supplier to MotoGP from 2027,” said series organiser Dorna in a brief statement.
“A new five-year contract until 2031 inclusive, currently being finalised, will coincide with a new era for the sport as new MotoGP bikes and technical regulations debut in 2027.
"The strategy of having a single supplier in the paddock will provide the perfect development ladder for the champions of tomorrow to hone their craft on their way to the top.
“Further details on the tyre allocations and specifications to be supplied by Pirelli will be announced soon.”
Pirelli, on the four-wheeled side of things, is already the current sole Formula 1 tyre supplier - which could be relevant against the backdrop of F1 owner Liberty Media working to get its MotoGP takeover greenlit by competition authorities, although Pirelli's plans in F1 and MotoGP aren't thought to be connected.
2027 presents the perfect opportunity to switch tyre manufacturer, but will also no doubt create an extra headache for teams already working on their new 850cc prototypes, given that the new deal likely means a wholly new chassis design will be necessary to take the most from the Pirelli tyres.
MotoGP’s last major tyre switch, from Bridgestone to Michelin at the end of the 2015 season, coincided with new technical rules that saw teams’ custom electronics systems banned and replaced with a one-make Magneti Marelli system - and created an intense 2016 season with a stretch of eight different winners in eight races.
It remains to be seen what the news will mean for the remainder of the current Michelin deal, which covers the 2025 and 2026 seasons. Previously expected to introduce a delayed but much-needed new front tyre for 2026 in order to deal with the tyre pressure issues that have hampered competitiveness in recent seasons, that could well be the first casualty of the new deal should Michelin now decide to cut development costs.
Michelin's statement
While Michelin hasn’t been shy recently about expressing some discontent with the series amid frequent criticism of its product by riders and teams (a natural consequence of being the single supplier), it seems that the decision to leave might not have been made of its own accord, according to Michelin's bike racing boss Piero Taramasso.
“After several months of discussion regarding the extension of Michelin,” he said, “Dorna Sports has decided to select a sole tyre manufacturer for all classes.
“This means MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3, MotoE and also series like the Rookies Cup and their talent cups.
“Unfortunately, this set-up was not an option for Michelin, which has always prioritised MotoGP and MotoE.
"MotoGP represents the pinnacle of motorcycle racing, and serves to us as a major testing ground for technological innovation. It is the platform where we get experience and gain a lot of data.
“We respect Dorna’s decision, and we remain focused on our role as supplier for the 2025 and 2026 seasons of MotoGP and MotoE, and we will continue to work hand in hand with all our partners.”
Pirelli in F1
Edd Straw
When Pirelli returned to Formula 1 in 2011, it became the first genuine control tyre supplier in F1 history. Yes, there were periods when only one company supplied the grid, including the four seasons before with Bridgestone after Michelin pulled out, but these were usually rooted in tyre-war technology. The different in the Pirelli era is that it was a ground-up, bespoke spec tyre project, tasked with producing a range of compounds – usually five for dry conditions – that best serve ‘the show’.
The demands placed on Pirelli were inspired by the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix, an Oasis of pitstops in a season largely of one-stoppers. The thinking was that more pitstops and greater degradation means more action, so rather than attempting to produce tyres with extreme durability and high performance, Pirelli was tasked with baking in certain drop-off characteristics.
Of course, that’s easier said than done, especially with the ludicrous testing limitations of its early years in F1. Pirelli immediately found itself the subject of criticism. That’s the lot of the control tyre supplier when teams must make the best of what they are given. It also made Pirelli an easy punching bag, particularly early on when drivers complained about marbles – discarded chunks of rubber - becoming projectiles in the second race of 2011 in Malaysia. It’s fair to say it took F1 teams and drivers time to get used to this new type of tyre supply, and in many ways they never really have.
Criticism from drivers and teams has become a fixture throughout the 14 seasons of Pirelli control tyres staged so far. With no capacity to push to adapt the tyres for their own demands, everyone had to make the best of what they are given. There have also been occasions when the tyres have been modified to deal with rapidly-rising loads, most famously in 2013 and more recently during 2023.
But Pirelli has always been willing to do the best it can to create the tyre characteristics demanded and remained sanguine given, at times, it has unfairly been expected to solve almost every perceived problem with the on-track product single-handedly.
For Pirelli, F1 has always primarily been a marketing proposition. That’s true to an extent for all tyre suppliers, certainly for those who sign off the spend, but Pirelli has been willing to compromise technically to deliver what F1 wants. A less generous read would be that Pirelli isn’t as capable technically as, say, Bridgestone or Michelin. However, it’s important also to note that Pirelli has had to deal with the ever-rising weight of cars. In the last year before Pirelli, the minimum weight was set at 620kg, a figure that in 2025 has increased by a massive 45%. That hugely increases the loads on the tyres and therefore makes comparisons with the tyre characteristics of yesterday a moot point.
F1 has worked well for Pirelli and continues to do so. But just as predecessor Bridgestone withdrew at the end of 2010, having realised its ambitions with a vast increase in brand recognition in Europe in particular, it’s difficult to escape the conclusion that F1 might have done everything it can for Pirelli by the time the next tyre tender is out.
Pirelli supported F1 through a period when there weren’t many obvious alternatives, on top of showing a willingness to adapt and experiment in an era when fine-tuning ‘the show’ has become perhaps the defining preoccupation of F1. As then-Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said back in 2013: “We cannot run without tyres unless we go back to the Flintstones’ time.”
