Hankook heads into one of Formula E’s toughest tyre assignments this weekend as the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship returns to Berlin for Rounds 7 and 8 of Season 12 (2–3 May). The 2026 Hankook Berlin E-Prix again uses the 2.374km Tempelhof Airport Circuit, a 15 corner, anticlockwise layout set on the former airfield’s concrete apron, where slab joints and a coarse surface generate unusually high abrasion.
For teams, the Tempelhof surface typically accelerates wear and makes tyre preservation central to the overall energy-management picture. With qualifying and racing on consecutive days, maintaining consistent performance across multiple sessions, and limiting degradation over race distance, can be decisive. Strategic variation is further encouraged by Attack Mode activation at Turn 2 and the circuit’s open, flowing profile, which tends to support overtaking.
Hankook says its iON Race tyre has been engineered to deliver stable grip and predictable handling in high-abrasion conditions, with a broad operating window to help teams manage changing balance as the compound wears.
Manfred Sandbichler, senior director of Hankook Motorsport, said: “Berlin’s concrete surface is unlike any other venue on the Formula E calendar and presents a very specific set of demands on the tyre. The abrasive nature of the Tempelhof apron makes degradation management critical, and the double-header format adds further complexity. The iON Race is designed to provide a broad operating window, allowing teams to maintain consistency across two races.”