Pirelli chief Paul Hembery thinks it would be wrong for Formula One to return to the 'tyre war' era. Recent rumours hinted FIA president Jean Todt would like to see Michelin return to the sport, but the French marque has said it would only race in F1 again if it can compete with a rival manufacturer. Michael Schumacher thinks a tyre war ensures "decent tyres" to race on, but Pirelli motor sport director Hembery is staunchly opposed. The Italian marque's contract as F1's sole supplier […]

Qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, where the P Zero White medium and P Zero Yellow soft tyres have been nominated, got underway in 30 degrees centigrade ambient temperature and 45 degrees centigrade track temperature: the warmest weather seen all weekend. McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton dominated qualifying, claiming his team’s 150th pole position by four-tenths of a second after going quickest in every session. The Englishman, on pole for the third time this year, was also fastest in both free practice sessions yesterday. During Q1, […]

A German magazine is reporting that FIA president Jean Todt wants Michelin to consider returning to Formula One. Pirelli's three-year contract as the sport's official sole supplier ends next season, with boss Paul Hembery indicating that an extension is not guaranteed. Replying to a direct question on Twitter about Pirelli's plans for F1 beyond 2013, Hembery said recently: "If they (F1) want us and if the economy stays sane, yes (we will stay)." Michelin, however, has said previously that it would only consider coming back […]

Pirelli’s latest specification of the P Zero Silver hard tyre was scheduled to make its debut in free practice at Silverstone – before the famous British weather decided otherwise. Consequently, the new hard tyre will now be brought to Germany for the drivers to try out in free practice on Friday. They will have two sets of the new tyre on top of their usual allocation of 11 sets, with the P Zero White medium compound and P Zero Yellow soft nominated for Germany. Hockenheim […]

Pirelli remains at the centre of the F1 'show', but a new analysis proves that the marque's tyres in 2012 are less fragile than last year. Germany's Auto Motor und Sport said that following the pitstop frenzy of the Italian supplier's first season back on the grid, there has been "much less" tyre degradation so far in 2012. In 2010, for Bridgestone's last year in F1, the analysis said there were between one and two pitstops per driver -- 304 in total over the first […]

Paul Hembery has hit back at claims F1's championship 'lottery' in 2012 could be because Pirelli is supplying tyres with inconsistent quality. The rumour has been rumbling around the paddock, and Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko last week admitted he suspects there are in fact "serious differences" between what should be identical sets of tyre compounds. First, Pirelli's F1 chief Hembery ruled out the theory the Italian marque might be deliberately mixing up tyre quality in order to shake up the results. "We don't decide […]

After three consecutive street circuits, Formula One returns to one of the most traditional permanent tracks of the year at Silverstone. For Pirelli, this can be considered a second home race, as the company’s motorsport hub is located in Didcot, only around an hour away. During free practice on Friday, the teams will have the opportunity to test a new hard P Zero compound that is under development for the future. Pirelli tried out a number of experimental compounds during last year’s free practice sessions, […]

Pirelli's Paul Hembery is confident Jaime Alguersuari will be back on the grid soon. After losing Red Bull's backing and his Toro Rosso seat at the end of last season, the now 22-year-old Spaniard kept his F1 dream alive by accepting the role as official tyre supplier Pirelli's main test driver. This week, he is in action at Belgium's fabled Spa Francorchamps. "These days there are few opportunities for drivers to drive Formula One cars," Hembery told El Confidencial. "Right now Jaime is doing almost […]

F1 is considering a ban on tyre-warming blankets, the German language publication Motorsport Magazin reports. Journalist Kerstin Hasenbichler reported from Valencia that the potential 2013 ban is being discussed as part of the sport's cost-cutting efforts. The teams and the FIA are "currently in consultation to restructure regulations aimed at keeping costs as low as possible", the writer said. A tyre blanket ban was considered a few years ago but shelved on safety grounds. It would, however, save money both on equipment expenditure and freight […]

'2012 tyre lottery' is not a term one would hear seriously deployed this season within the garages of traditional midfield teams including Sauber, Lotus and Williams. Until now, as an unprecedented seven different winners scooped the honours at the opening seven grands prix of the year, top teams including McLaren and Red Bull have referred constantly to the tiny 'window' of operation of Pirelli's 2012 tyres. But "The window for the tyres has not become smaller," Sauber's technical director Matt Morris is quoted by Germany's […]

Pirelli has indicated its desire to stay in Formula 1 beyond its current contract. The sport's controversial sole tyre supplier returned to F1 at the beginning of last year, having won a three-year tender from governing body the FIA. "Our current contract ends at the end of the 2013 season, but we still want to be in F1 in the medium and long term," motor sport director Paul Hembery is quoted by the French-language website autohebdo.fr. "If the sport wants us to stay and we […]

Nico Rosberg sounds very confident ahead of this weekend's European grand prix on the streets of Valencia. The breakthrough Shanghai winner, who also finished second recently at Monaco, is quoted by Germany's Sport1 as insisting the Mercedes is "absolutely the fastest car" at present. At the same time, Pirelli's Paul Hembery is reported as having tipped Rosberg's teammate and Monaco polesitter Michael Schumacher for pole and victory this weekend. Rosberg added: "I have the feeling that we could win every race." As for the world […]