Aju Business Daily

SEOUL -- Hankook Tire, a top South Korean tiremaker, competes with Italian tire maker Pirelli to become the sole provider of tires for Formula 1 (F1) races. Pirelli has been the sole provider of racing tires for F1 machines since 2010 and its contract ends in 2019.

Hankook Tire said in a statement Thursday that it won technical approval from the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of motorsport, after the company was accepted as a bidder to supply tires for the F1 Grand Prix from 2020 to 2023.

"It is a proof that we have the global top-tier technology to meet FIA's technology and safety requirements," a Hankook Tire official was quoted as saying. The South Korean company is a tire supplier for the European FIA Formula 3 Championship series and the German DTM series.

Hankook will compete with Pirelli to grab the FIA contract. The Italian tire maker wants to retain its contract. The winner will be given a task to develop 18-inch tires, a new specification for new machines for 2021, and the current 13-inch tires.