© Pirelli

Mario Isola, born in Milan, started his career in motorsport as a test driver for Pirelli’s road car tyres, and the sensitivity of his touch meant that he was soon drafted into the R&D division, designing road car tyres. He successfully developed a range of low-rolling resistance tyres and winter tyres before heading over to motorsport.

Isola was initially involved in designing tyres for GT cars and then managed Pirelli’s sportscar campaigns in the FIA GT Championship – which resulted in a championship win in 2005. In 2006 he moved over to rallying, overseeing Pirelli’s tenure of the exclusive tyre supply contract from 2008-2010, while also managing Pirelli’s return to single-seater racing in GP3. In 2011, he becomes Pirelli’s racing manager, in charge of day-to-day operations on the track for Formula 1, GP2 and GP3.