Pirelli boss Paul Hembery claims teams being allowed to choose their own compounds would compromise safety.

As Michelin admits it is open to a return to the sport, albeit insisting that "tyres must be a technical object rather than a tool for a spectacular show", force India boss Vijay Mallya has suggested that teams should be free to choose what compounds they take to races rather than accepting the two nominated by Pirelli.

Not a good idea, suggests Pirelli Motorsport boss, Paul Hembery.

"If we weren’t supplying the tyres I would say yes," he told the official F1 website. "But we make our tyre choices based on a lot of data - looking at the individual circuits and their surfaces - and looking at all the ten chassis. And we wouldn’t want somebody else taking that out of our hands because you could end up having some safety issues."

Having been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons a number of times in the last couple of years - often, it must be said, through no fault of its own, Pirelli has been out of the media spotlight in recent times. Is this a good thing?

"We still get a lot of comments, people expressing their pleasure that we see more movements and a bit more predictability with the tyres," says Hembery. "We’ve seen a massive technological change in the sport since 2014 and the focus, very rightly, has been on different aspects of the performance. I think we have a good balance at the moment.

"Has life become easier now that we’re not the ‘bad boys’ to that extent anymore? There is always somebody complaining… But don’t get me wrong, we do our job well and keep an eye on the ball, as this sport is changing rapidly. We must not become complacent. But in the end we are limited in what we can change because of the lack of testing. So even if we see something that in an ideal world we would love to change, we stay put."

Indeed, previously it was often those four bits of rubber that decided races, since the new formula was introduced last year it has largely been the power units.

"When we came to the sport the regulations had been very stable, that was a different challenge," says Hembery. "Now with the regulation changes the challenge has become a different technical aspect.

"We’ve taken us slightly back so that we are not at the forefront. In some ways we had to change our product because the cars have changed: they have more torque, more wheel spin - and they started going quicker, even though sometimes we see races that are not as quick as we had anticipated."

After a full season with the new formula, Hembery is asked how Pirelli prepared for 2015.

"It meant for us that we were going a bit unto the unknown," he admits. "We had some good pre-season testing last year in hotter conditions in Bahrain, which gave us a very good early indication of how the power train works with the tyres - with very good results, as we’ve changed very little for this season. We’ve just made some changes to the rear tyres to balance out even further the wear and the heat build-up. So 2015 is more evolution than revolution."

As the Strategy Group seeks to find ways to (groan) 'spice up' the sport, could tyres play a part?

"We’ve been asked to look into making wider tyres," he reveals, "the kinds of tyres of 20 years ago. That would be dramatic in terms of appearance and would mean that more grip comes from the tyres - so my understanding is that the Strategy Group are looking into less aero. What they are planning with the power trains, I don’t know."

Asked if tyres become more important again, he replies: "Probably only in places where it is really hot - like Malaysia - where we probably see chassis differences and the tyres taking on more strategic importance."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Simon in Adelaide, 17/05/2015 12:23

"If Pirelli are concerned about safety then fine, let them state at the beginning of the season the minimum 'hardness' that would be available at each race - the teams would effectively have a choice of three compounds making one-stop strategies a real possibility."

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2. Posted by SideGlance, 17/05/2015 3:29

"I am so prescient !!! http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/325606/pirelli-focusing-on-safety-after-rule-change/

Should make races a bit more interesting, now Change those diesel hybrid truck engines !!!!"

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3. Posted by SideGlance, 16/05/2015 5:39

"I know this would be actually hard to do, but I certainly like the 'entertainment' possibilities of this, and we may actually either see some new teams on top or the same ol same ol boring crap.

Maybe smaller/simpler wings, and larger tires and more power would help ? The show is a bit sucky at the moment, IMO."

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4. Posted by GrahamG, 15/05/2015 6:54

"Hembury is defending the undefendable and just wants to make sure he gets Bernie's nod for the future. Why not just take one suitable tyre to each event, or just try to make a tyre that will last and perform well over an event - we might even start believing in Pirelli again. Until then I will continue my personal boycott of Pirelli, who have, with Bernie's help made F1 into afarce."

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5. Posted by Joop deBruin, 15/05/2015 1:00

"Horse potatoes! At minimum kill the stupid rule that all teams must use both chosen tires. Let teams decide. Bring back a second tire vendor and give this guy an unemployment ticket."

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6. Posted by nonickname, 14/05/2015 20:18

"Perhaps that is a question for Fernando??"

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7. Posted by Colins'son, 14/05/2015 17:32

"Why should tire companies have the last say in how a team sets up it's car? What's next- when a driver can discard his tear-off's?"

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Hembery dismisses talk of 'free' tyre choice

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