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."
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