28/01/2016
NEWS STORY
Pirelli is to meet with team representatives, drivers, the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone next week.
The meeting, which will take place at Pirelli's HQ in Milan on Tuesday, is aimed at taking on board recent comment from the drivers' 'union', the GPDA, regarding tyre performance.
The Italian manufacturer was given a strict mandate, which it adhered to, however the end result meant soporific Sunday afternoons as drivers opted for caution over daring, preferring to manage their tyres than take unnecessary chances.
A sport already reeling from Mercedes dominance was further damaged by the sight (and sound) of drivers preserving their tyres rather than racing flat-out.
Now, spurred on by comments from the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, whereby drivers have called for tyres they can push to the limit, Pirelli is meeting with all those involved in an attempt to produce the right tyres needed.
"We are absolutely delighted that all members of the sport are going to sit down and give us a clear target going forward," Pirelli Motorsport director Paul Hembery told Motorsport.com.
However, echoing Bernie Ecclestone, he warned that producing such tyres will require full co-operation from the teams, especially when it comes to testing.
"We want to listen to the drivers and we are happy to deliver exactly what they want," he said. "In fact, we are delighted that there is going to be some clarity on the situation now and a target given for us.
"But it is clear then we need to have a clear plan on how we are going to be able to deliver that. It will require a suitable testing plan, and it will require some regulation changes – which will need to be done urgently to allow us to deliver what the sport requires.
"It is very important to define what the sport wants," he added. "We are happy to deliver exactly what everyone wants – but it does require testing time that is done in a logical and sensible fashion.
"All we want is to have clarity from stakeholders on what they want and we want to let them know what we need to deliver that. We've described already that we want 30,000km of testing, and we are happy to start with an old Toyota or Lotus and combine it with a modified chassis later in the year to confirm the work we have been able to do."
"Pirelli sees this meeting as being of vital importance in order to further consolidate the close collaboration that got underway last year with the FIA, FOM, and the drivers," said Pirelli in a subsequent statement.
"In 2017 the technical aspects will become even more complex, so Pirelli is even more convinced of the need to carry out more on-track testing. This is a factor that has been extremely limited in recent years, despite the important evolution of the cars and subsequent increase in performance. All these are vital steps towards tyre development that takes into account the future evolution of the cars and added performance, which will be particularly notable in 2017. This will allow an even more effective use of the advanced technology that makes Pirelli the world leader in performance tyres."