Hankook’s iON Race Accelerates Formula E
As season 12 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship finished its opening round Dec. 6 in São Paulo, Hankook Tire & Technology gave drivers stability and consistency on the track with its latest EV tire line.
Hankook, the championship’s exclusive tire partner, supported the grid’s return to the high-speed Anhembi Sambadrome with the iON Race, giving drivers a stable platform to balance outright pace with energy and heat management. The tire’s consistent warm-up behavior and confident grip enabled drivers to navigate both high-speed straights and the slower, more technical sectors.
“Today’s race in São Paulo gave us a strong sense of how exciting this season will be,” says Manfred Sandbichler, senior director of Hankook Motorsport. “With conditions changing throughout the day, the iON Race delivered the consistency teams needed to run their strategies with confidence. Based on what we saw here, we anticipate a strong season ahead – both in racing and tire performance.”
Insights gathered from São Paulo will continue to shape Hankook’s broader iON EV tire development, particularly in areas such as temperature stability, rolling resistance and footprint behavior – characteristics shaped directly by the demands of all-electric street racing.
The 2.933-kilometer (1.8-mile), 11-turn course demanded constant adaptation. Long acceleration zones fed into rapid direction changes, with the decisive mid-lap hairpin repeatedly reshaping the race rhythm. Also, typical early-summer temperatures and humidity shifts added complexity, steadily influencing grip levels and thermal behavior over the race distance.
Jake Dennis opened Formula E Season 12 with a dramatic victory for Andretti Formula E, taking the win after a late red flag and becoming the first front-row winner at the Anhembi Sambadrome Circuit.
The championship moves on to the 2026 Hankook Mexico City E-Prix on Jan. 10, where the altitude and unique characteristics of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez will set the stage for round two.