Paul Hembery, from Pirelli, considers the races exciting
Faced with several criticisms regarding the softness of its tires and the unpredictability of the resulting hierarchy, Pirelli, through Paul Hembery, the director of motorsport at the Italian manufacturer, has sought to defend the firm's work.
Michael Schumacher after Bahrain, Dietrich Mateschitz after Spain, the Pirelli tires are being talked about and some believe the supplied tires are too unpredictable. Paul Hembery, on the other hand, prefers to focus on the spectacle provided: « The vast majority of feedback we receive is that people love the races. At the beginning of the season, if we had said there would be five different winners on five different cars, everyone would have suggested that we had smoked something, but that’s what happened. And I think the majority of fans are thrilled to see exciting races. Anyone who undermines Maldonado’s victory in Spain with Williams is someone who needs to get out a bit, because the entire paddock was delighted. I think for many people, these are the images they want to see. »
The changing hierarchy is not a problem for Paul Hembery and can even be an asset for more modest teams: « There are many teams here that need to find budgets, find sponsors, and justify their presence in F1, and if they have the opportunity, that’s great. Spain was an excellent victory for Williams, but we saw Sauber achieve a very good result in Malaysia and we saw Paul di Resta have a good race in Bahrain with Force India. » The competition director at Pirelli ensures that, in the end, the best will prevail: « All aspects are important for all teams. Over a season, it is always the best drivers, the best cars, and the best engineers that win. There are 20 races, so that’s what will happen. »
« Just look at the championship. It’s very tight, people have been asking for that for years. We have it, and yet some are still not happy, » protests Paul Hembery, before stating that Pirelli does not want the attention to be partially focused on them: « We do not want to be the major element of F1 races. That should be the place for engineers, drivers, and cars, so from that perspective, we wouldn’t want it to become less exciting. »
Finally, the Brit believes that some teams are on the path to understanding how the Italian rubbers work: « The engineers will master what they’re doing and, if they’re given a few races, things will calm down. We had indications in Spain that three or four teams had made some progress. We felt this was confirmed by the results we saw. »
