Hankook iON Race Endures Jeddah's Speed, Heat, and Night Conditions in Formula E's Double-Header
- Pascal Wehrlein claimed victory in Round 4 and António Félix Da Costa triumphed in Round 5 as Hankook's iON Race supported competitive, strategy-driven racing as teams managed evolving track and tire temperatures under the lights
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As the championship's exclusive tire partner, Hankook Tire & Technology Co., Ltd. (hereafter Hankook), a leading global tire company of Hankook & Company Group (Chairman Hyunbum Cho), supported the field throughout Season 12's Saudi Arabian double-header at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Under the circuit's floodlights, the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship delivered two nights of wheel-to-wheel races that pushed both driver skill and tire management to the limit.
In Round 4 on 13 February, Pascal Wehrlein of Porsche Formula E Team secured victory by sustained pace and decisive positioning through Jeddah's rapid street layout. The following night, António Félix Da Costa of Jaguar TCS Racing emerged victorious in Round 5 after drivers balanced outright speed with energy and tire management to the finish.
Adapted to suit Formula E's regenerative braking and energy dynamics, the Jeddah Corniche Circuit's 3.001-kilometer, 19-turn layout combined long, fast straights with technical chicanes and heavy braking zones.
Throughout the weekend, Hankook's iON Race tire delivered dependable grip under high loads while maintaining consistent thermal control and optimized rolling resistance—an essential balance in Formula E, where tire behavior is closely linked to energy efficiency and race strategy.
"Jeddah under the lights produced two demanding races with their own strategic patterns," said Manfred Sandbichler, Senior Director of Hankook Motorsport. "Across both rounds, the iON Race demonstrated stable and consistent performance in conditions where track behavior and tire temperatures evolved through each session. Such tire predictability is essential in helping teams execute their strategies on such a fast and technically complex circuit, and the data gathered here will feed directly into our ongoing iON development program."
Following the double-header, Formula E hosted the global creator invitation program EVO Sessions 2 on February 15. First launched after last season's Miami E-Prix, the initiative generated over 280 million views across Formula E's ecosystem digital platforms, extending global exposure for Hankook's iON Race technology. A total of 10 international creators — including Khaby Lame, Behzinga, TheBurntChip, and presenter Izzy Hammond — took part in the session, driving the GEN3 Evo race car capable of 322 km/h and 0–100 km/h in 1.86 seconds on the official circuit. Calfreezy and Vikkstar played the roles of Team Principals at EVO Sessions 2. Throughout the program, Hankook's iON Race delivered strong grip and handling stability, demonstrating its advanced EV tire performance in a high-speed motorsport environment.
Formula E next moves to Round 6 in Madrid on 21 March 2026, where the championship will race at the Circuito de Madrid Jarama on a tighter, more technical permanent circuit configuration as Hankook's iON Race remains at the center of the action—supporting competitive racing on track.
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