05/09/2015
NEWS STORY
Back in the spotlight again, Pirelli is pushing for the return of in-season testing in 2016.
Still smarting from the public criticism it received post Spa, the Italian manufacturer, which insists its tyres, in terms of degradation, are at the behest of the sport's powers that be, has received public support from Formula One Management, Bernie Ecclestone giving the company a rare, ringing endorsement.
As the Spa post-mortem continues, Pirelli, which is hoping to remain the sport's official tyre supplier from 2017, sought a 'behind closed doors' summit with a number of drivers, the F1 supremo and FIA, at which the drivers were 'requested' not to publicly criticise the tyres.
Looking ahead to 2017, and with an eye on the current situation, Pirelli insists that going forward the only way to produce the correct tyres, especially in light of the rule changes, is testing.
"It's important to underline that we feel we need to have a little bit more collaboration directly with the drivers and we've already discussed that with a number of the teams and we have an agreement that there should be a clearer exchange between us all so that we're all aiming for the same things going forward and that opens up what we feel needs to be a very serious testing programme in the future," Paul Hembery told reporters at Monza.
"If we are going to carry on in 2017 there are very dramatic changes to the tyre sizes involved and that needs a proper testing programme. In years gone by tyre suppliers in Formula One have been able to test for 100,000km every season and we're currently unable to use any Formula One car whatsoever to do testing.
"We are working with the teams behind the scenes and I believe that going forward we will find a solution that will allow us all to be a lot more comfortable going forward."
Asked if such testing would be a 'deal breaker' in terms of Pirelli remaining in the sport, he said: "With the proposed changes that have been more or less confirmed with all the teams now with the dimensions of the tyres - going to wider tyres - then yes, it has to be a condition for staying in. You can't make such a dramatic change without testing."