The story behind the Pirelli F1 pole position award

Once the dust settles from a chaotic Formula 1 qualifying session, the driver on pole gets bragging rights over the rest of the field and a small tyre that's presented by Pirelli. But what is the tiny tyre, why is it handed out and what happens to it once the driver on pole has posed with it in parc ferme?

The tyre in question is Pirelli’s Pole Position award, which is a relative newcomer to the world of F1 trophies. According to the Italian tyre manufacturer, the idea for the award came about in testing ahead of the 2018 campaign, and it made its debut at that year's Australian Grand Prix – with Lewis Hamilton taking home the very first one for setting the fastest lap in qualifying for the opening round. 

The awards are made from a replica of Pirelli's wind tunnel tyres, which are made by F1's supplier for teams to use in tests of their cars and components. The tyre is therefore a 60% scaled down replica of a real F1 tyre – measuring 330mm in diameter.  

To turn the tyre from a testing tool to a trophy, it's handed over to Pirelli’s facility in Milan, where teams who would normally engrave experimental tread patterns into new tyres set to work. The trophies are engraved with both the F1 and Pirelli logos, as well as a map of the circuit it will be awarded at.  

The trophy is then packaged up and taken to the circuit by a member of the Pirelli team in their hand luggage to every race. At the conclusion of qualifying, the tiny tyre is signed and handed over to the fastest driver. Once the presentation ceremony is over, it’s packaged up and personally handed to the driver’s team by Pirelli.  

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

For George Russell, who took pole at the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix, the Pole Position Award has been taken back to Brackley and displayed in the reception of the Mercedes F1 team's factory.  

Pirelli reports that for other teams, the trophies sometimes go home with the drivers or have often been donated to museums around the world – others have also been auctioned off for charity.