Pirelli threatens to leave F1 at year’s end

Pirelli’s future in Formula 1 beyond this season is in doubt and could see the sport hit the panic button in the chase for a tyre supplier for 2014.

It’s understood that Pirelli has reached an agreement with Bernie Ecclestone for next year but that is yet to be ratified by the FIA or the teams. A number of new regulations will be in place next year and Pirelli needs time to develop tyres that fall in line with the new regs.

“Apparently on September 1, we are meant to tell them [the teams] everything that they need to know with the tyres for next season, but now we are in mid-May,” explained Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director.

“You can imagine how ludicrous that is when we have not got contracts in place. Maybe we won’t be here…”

Pirelli has an internal deadline, which it won’t make public, and you get the sense that it is either foxing in order to get the contract signed or quietly shitting itself that they won’t have time to fulfill their obligations if they do get the green light for 2014.

“I have always said we will never declare an internal deadline but clearly time is already too late,” Hembery added.

“Things are getting, as far as we can, extremely serious because the changes next year are substantial.

“It is not just a case of maybe putting a harder compound on to this year’s tyres – the changes are so dramatic that we will need to do a thorough re-engineering of the tyre. That takes time, so the longer is goes on it makes our job impossible.

“There comes a time where we will not have time to do the job any more.”

Pirelli is already under fire from the teams for the high degradation of the 2013 tyres and has felt compelled to make changes for the Canadian Grand Prix in June.

[Source: Autosport | Pic: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes]