Time is running out to extend Pirelli after 2013
The contract binding Formula 1 to Pirelli will come to an end at the end of the 2013 season, and Paul Hembery has admitted that the longer the negotiations drag on, the more complicated the situation becomes for the Italian manufacturer.
Pirelli made its return to F1 at the beginning of 2011, with the Milan-based company being chosen to succeed Bridgestone as the sole tire supplier for the Formula 1 World Championship. The contract signed with F1 spanned three seasons, ending at the close of the current year.
The Italian manufacturer, through its head of competition, Paul Hembery, has not hidden its desire to extend the F1 adventure beyond 2013, but for the moment, nothing has been done in this regard, even though things are pressing as Hembery told Autosport: « The more time passes, the more difficult it becomes. »
If Pirelli wants to continue, Hembery made it clear that it will not happen at any cost, especially considering the crisis currently affecting the automotive sector in Europe: “We are in the automotive market and I think everyone who reads the newspapers will see that Europe is not doing very well in this sector. We are not immune to that, and the longer it goes on, the more questions I get asked in the boardroom. We have to keep asking and justifying our involvement in this sport. We want to go further in this sport, but as I have already said, it will not be at any cost because it cannot happen.”
The Pirelli competition director added that discussions were ongoing with the teams in particular, and that commercial questions remained on hold for now, even though the grid seems in favor of extending the Italian manufacturer’s contract: « We have a good number of teams that wish to continue. There are several points of discussion with a few teams, but that’s normal in this kind of process. We just need to succeed in finding an agreement quickly that can satisfy everyone. »
