Still without a contract for 2014, Pirelli threatens to leave F1

When it returned to Formula 1 in 2011, Pirelli signed a contract for three seasons, which will come to an end at the end of the year. However, the Italian manufacturer still has no news regarding a possible extension for next season and beyond.

Paul Hembery, the director of motorsport at Pirelli, stated today in Monaco that the situation was becoming critical as time was starting to run out to develop new tires for 2014: « Apparently, by September 1st, we are supposed to tell them everything the teams need to know about the tires for next year, but we are in mid-May. You can imagine how ridiculous that is given that we do not have a contract. Maybe we won’t be there… »

The Briton also disclosed that an internal deadline had been set at Pirelli to decide whether or not to continue in Formula 1 in 2014 – even though he didn’t want to reveal it: « I have always said that we would never disclose our internal deadline, but clearly, it is already too late. Things are becoming very serious because the changes for next year are significant. The sport must make a quick decision because, aside from the resources attached to our F1 market, there is also technical work to be done. We need to do technical work as well. »

Hembery also stated that the 2014 tires required a complete redesign compared to the 2013 ones, and doing all this work by September 1st was starting to become very complicated, if not impossible. He hopes to receive a swift response, otherwise they might not be able to meet the demand.

« It’s not just a matter of making the tires harder compared to this year’s tires – the changes are so significant that we need to remake the tire. It takes time, so the longer it [the wait, editor’s note] lasts, the more it makes our job impossible. There will come a point when we won’t have enough time to do our work, » added Hembery.