McLaren expects to see Pirelli continue in F1 in 2014

In 2010, Pirelli signed a three-year contract to be the sole tire supplier for Formula 1. The contract will therefore expire at the end of the current year, but for now, nothing has leaked about a potential continuation with the Italian manufacturer.

If Paul Hembery, the head of competition at Pirelli, has explained several times that the brand is ready to extend the adventure in F1, for now things seem to be dragging and this does not help Pirelli in its potential preparation for 2014.

On the McLaren side, they still expect to see the Italian manufacturer continue, as Jonathan Neale, one of the Woking team’s executives, stated during a conference: “I think at this moment, we assume – I don’t know if this is well-founded – that in some way we will continue with Pirelli. And if that happens, then I think we have wind tunnel tires and tires that will support our car development process.”

Martin Whitmarsh also thinks that Pirelli will extend in F1 and he believes that the tires should remain similar next year: « Based on the information received from most teams, we decided to keep the same tire dimensions. But since next year’s cars will exert different forces on the tires, we proposed that the regulations be amended so that teams can use different compounds at the front and rear if necessary. »

McLaren therefore expects continuity, but if a new manufacturer were to arrive in F1, the team will adapt: « If we had a last-minute change with someone else coming into the sport in the short term, then of course we will work around that, we will work with whoever is chosen by the FIA. But clearly, I think for all teams, not just McLaren, ensuring we understand what the shape of the tires will be, their weight was something that would affect our decisions on the car’s design. But it will be the same for everyone, so if someone comes in at the last minute, we will all have to adapt and there will be winners and losers. »