Formula E has extended deals with founding partners, French tyre manufacturer Michelin and German automotive manufacturer BMW, ahead of the 2017-18 season of the electric car-racing series.
Michelin will retain its position as the official tyre supplier of the series until the end of the 2020-21 season. The company has held the role since Formula E’s inaugural season in 2014 and was one of the series’ founding partners.
Michelin’s previous deal was due to expire at the end of the 2018-19 season.
Pascal Couasnon, Michelin motorsport director, said: “Michelin believed in the FIA Formula E Championship from the beginning and joined this new discipline as a founding partner. Today, after only three seasons, Formula E has become a platform of innovation and communication chosen by the most important brands of the world.
“The contribution of Formula E to the evolution of the automobile is obvious and Michelin wants to move forward with the FIA (International Automobile Federation), Alejandro Agag (Formula E chief executive) and his teams, as well as with all manufacturers, on the path of sustainable mobility.”
The BMW i brand has signed a multi-year extension to its partnership and will continue as the official vehicle partner.
BMW will supply a fleet of vehicles, including the new-model BMW i3s medical cars and the BMW i8, which is used as the safety car. In July, BMW followed fellow German automotive manufacturer Audi in confirming that it will join Formula E as an official manufacturer.
BMW will enter Formula E for season five in 2018-19, partnering with Andretti to develop a new powertrain for the US team.
Agag said: “Even when Formula E was just an idea and didn’t exist, we had BMW on board as a partner that believed in this project from the very beginning. It’s a legendary brand in the world of sports and in the car industry, and soon we’ll also have them in the pitlane trying to win.”
The new Formula E season gets underway this weekend with a double-header event in Hong Kong.