New Delhi: It’s not Sebastien Vettel or Lewis Hamilton. The biggest star of the 2011 Formula One season so far has been Pirelli, the Italian company that replaced Bridgestone as the sole tyre supplier. Pirelli has been lauded for the characteristics of its tyres (faster rate of wear) that have facilitated overtaking manoeuvres and close finishes in the first three races of this season. In an exclusive interview, Pirelli motorsport boss Paul Hembery says they have succeeded so far in making an active contribution that benefited Formula One.
What do you think about the three races so far?
I think they’ve been absolutely great, but more importantly, so do the drivers, teams and everyone else who has been watching. In the end, we came into Formula One as a company because we wanted to make an active contribution that benefited the sport, and I believe so far we have succeeded. A lot of people said to me that China was one of the most exciting races that there had been for years, so that’s a very positive sign for the rest of the year. If we can keep on having races like that, then I’ll be extremely happy.
Did you imagine the races would become so exciting?
I certainly hoped that they would be, as it’s what we designed the tyres to do. We wanted at least two pit stops at every race with plenty of overtaking and close some finishes. This was all covered within our brief from the promoter, and so far I think we have delivered. It’s not been an easy task as degradation is a very fine balance to judge, particularly when you are dealing with 12 different cars and 20 different tracks. If you’re even a little bit out with your calculations, you can end up with too many pit stops or just the bare minimum. Up to now we’ve got it right, but we’re going to keep on working hard throughout the year to make sure that this continues to be the case.
This season’s tyres must have come as a cultural shock to drivers...
I’m not sure about a shock, but we’ve certainly heard from the drivers that they are very different to what they had before. And as usual in Formula One, it’s the drivers and teams who assimilate the new parameters most quickly who are able to take advantage of that situation.
What's the difference between the Bridgestones and this year's Pirellis?
The honest answer is that I really don’t know because all I’ve seen of last year’s tyres is what any spectator would see, and we’ve certainly not had any detailed information about them. All we’ve had to go on is descriptions from other people, but in any case that’s not really relevant as we designed our tyres to have their own distinct personality, within a specific brief. It’s obvious though that our tyres deliberately wear faster and are maybe more polarised in their characteristics than before. One of the more experienced drivers said that our tyres were a little bit like racing tyres used to be and I reckon that description feels about right: we want to give racing back to the racers.
Do you feel vindicated with what you have done considering some drivers had raised doubts about the rate of tyre wear during pre-season tests?
I think it’s only human for people to be sceptical about something new, particularly in the pressurised environment of Formula One. But throughout our testing campaign, during which we covered around 18,000 kilometres, our test drivers and our data were consistently giving us the feedback we were expecting to hear, so we knew we were on the right road. And I think now people are beginning to appreciate our contribution.
Will the drivers and teams keep guessing about tyre strategy in the remaining races?
I think so yes: it’s great that strategy has become an important part of Formula One again and that the drivers and teams have been able to showcase their skills in this area. We’ve seen a wide variety of strategies so far, all of which have their advantages and disadvantages, and I think that has only added to the intrigue of each race. What’s interesting to note too is that all the different strategies are on the whole quite closely matched, which has led to some very exciting finishes.
Has the spectacle of racing been maintained?
I think that’s a question for everybody else to answer, but from our perspective it’s hard to imagine how anybody could be disappointed by the calibre of the racing so far. Having said that, we’re humble enough to recognise that we’re still very new in Formula One and we don’t have all the answers yet. We’re going to keep working hard, but I personally think we’ve certainly started off on the right road with some great racing. That’s the most important thing at the end of the day.
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