Pirelli are keen to stay in Formula 1 as the sole tyre supplier after their current deal expires at the end of the 2013 season.
Tyre supplier want to stay on after current deal expires
Pirelli are keen to stay in Formula 1 as the sole tyre supplier after their current deal expires at the end of the 2013 season.
The Italian company joined F1 in 2011 following Bridgestone's withdrawal and were tasked with creating unpredictable tyres, in an attempt to increase overtaking.
While Pirelli have gained much support for what they have done, the teams have found the characteristics of this season's tyres in particular hard to predict.
That has led to criticism from some drivers, while rival manufacturers have used the high degradation to mock Pirelli's road tyres.
Despite this, Motorsport Director Paul Hembery says the company would like to stay in F1.
"We need to have a decision from the sport by June of next year, that's the closing date, although that's very late and in reality I think we need an indication before the end of this year," he told
ESPN.
Vision
"If the sport would like us to continue and if the overall conditions remain competitive and the sport has the vision that we think it has going forwards then it remains an attractive proposition for Pirelli.
"We see great benefit in a sport that is genuinely global - in fact you struggle to think of any that are genuinely global every year.
"F1 is a unique proposition from that point of view and that appeals to us as we're growing in regions like Asia and in countries like Russia and the USA. There seems to be a considerable effort from the organisers and the promoters to finally get the USA sorted and back on the map.
"These are all areas where we want to be seen to be present as a business, so it has a good fit with our business plan.
"The board at the moment are very happy, but of course things could change, the rules could change, costs might change substantially and those are all question marks that you always have to review.
"So when and if the sport wants us to continue and says it is happy with what we are doing, then we'll look at how we come to an agreement and if it makes sense and the return is still in line with the investment then we will be happy to go on."
Costs
Sky Sports reported last week that
Pirelli were opposed to a tyre war in F1 and Hembery confirmed that although such competition may push the boundaries of engineering, the financial costs were not viable.
"Are we for or against it? There are different points of view in the company," he added.
"If I put my engineering hat on then yes, let's do it, it's good fun. But if you look at it from a cost/benefit analysis and how you convey winning against another competitor then it's almost impossible.
"As for the teams themselves, they recognise the cost increases when there is a tyre competition. If people today say it's difficult mastering the tyres and that it is a big question mark then if you have a tyre competition they will spend a huge amount of money trying to maximise the performance advantage of an individual tyre.
"Things go in waves and maybe there will be a point in time when there is that stimulation that the teams would like, but there is no appetite for that at the moment.
"Of course, tyres are out of their control and that is something that I'm sure they don't like, because if you're a competing team you at least want the same material with something as critical as the tyre as the next team. If you haven't got that then you are really out of control of what you are doing as a team."
