Pirelli is set to celebrate its 500th F1 entry at this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix, and is to celebrate with a unique tyre design.
The Italian manufacturer has been F1's sole tyre supplier since it returned to grand prix racing in 2011 and is to become the first tyre manufacturer to reach 500 grands prix, having recently overtaken Goodyear, which has been on 494 starts since its withdrawal at the end of 1998.
For the Zandvoort weekend, each of Pirelli's slick tyres and all 20 cars will carry special '500 GP' stickers to mark the occasion, with Pirelli also closing in on passing Goodyear's record of 368 grand prix wins.
Currently, Pirelli is on 340 wins, meaning it is set to record its record-breaking 369th at the 2026 United States Grand Prix at Austin.
In a change from 2024, a softer tyre range is being brought to Zandvoort, with the C2-C3-C4 tyres being used as the hard-medium-softs as opposed to the C1-C2-C3 offering 12 months ago.
It is hoped this will provide more strategic variance at a track where on-track passing is limited.
Pirelli was active in F1 between 1950-1958, 1981-1986, 1989-1991 and then again from 2011 when it replaced Bridgestone. The first-ever world championship grand prix, the 1950 British GP was won by Giuseppe Farina's Alfa Romeo, on Pirelli tyres.
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