By Alex Kapadia

Pirelli could be set to begin supplying special ‘qualifying tyres’ to Formula One teams from next year.

The news comes in the wake of criticism of this seasons tyres, which seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher has likened to driving on ‘raw eggs’.

With the emphasis of the sport’s spectacle now relying on the complex and heavily degrading control tyres, it was the qualifying session that suffered last weekend in Barcelona.

The teams took an exceedingly strategic view of the fight for pole position during qualifying, with some drivers sitting out the decisive ‘Q3′ runout altogether.

One solution, according to Pirelli’s chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera, is the return of ‘qualifying tyres’.

Tronchetti defended his marque’s approach in an interview with Italian radio Rai GR Parlamento.

He said: “What we have is many competitive cars, which is what the teams wanted - opportunity for everyone who is able to win.

“So it’s fine if someone complains. We are available to the teams. We are ready to make qualifying tyres tomorrow.

“But they are choices that are not ours.”

Pirelli is pleased that its P Zero tyres - aimed at meeting the sporting needs of the modern driver - earned a top three plaudit in the Auto Express product awards.

For the latest test, the popular motoring magazine assessed 10 different tyres on aquaplaning, cabin noise and economy.

The Pirelli P Zero, a former winner in this size, was named one of the top three with Auto Express stating: “It makes its way into our top three thanks to an excellent performance in the wet tests, comfortably winning the braking and handling disciplines and finishing in the top four in the other categories.”

Dominic Sandivasci, Pirelli UK managing director, added: “We are delighted with the results from the recent Auto Express tyre test.

“As a company, Pirelli takes pride in being known as the world’s leading premium tyre manufacturer, and the P Zero family is a product that is consistently at the cutting edge of technology.

“With the launch of new and specialised lines such as the P Zero Silver earlier this year, we are confident that we have a product that delivers highly in both performance and durability.”

Pirelli’s P Zero range was launched in 1987 and has developed into one of the industry’s best-known high performance products. The tyres profile has been raised even higher with its entry into the glamorous world of Formula One.

When its not tearing round a track however, the P Zero is suitable for vehicles ranging from the most prestigious and powerful GTs, right through to mid-range vehicles.

Denna Bowman, Head Office

By Alex Kapadia

Warm weather will add to the challenges Pirelli’s controversial Formula One tyres will face at the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend.

The race on the Circuit de Catalunya just outside Barcelona will present the teams with a number of strategic options.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director, said: “The race should present something of a contrast to the last pre-season test in Barcelona, where low ambient temperatures meant that it was difficult to get heat into the tyres!

“This time we’re expecting warmer weather, which only adds to the many challenges that the tyres will face.

“We’ve nominated the soft and hard tyre in order to highlight performance differences that will create a different challenge for the teams, showcasing both the speed and durability of our products.

“There is a whole step in between our two nominations for the first time this year and this should allow the teams to come up with a number of different tyre strategies that could make a big difference to the final outcome.

“With many teams having expanded their knowledge of our tyre range and tested new components at Mugello, we’re expecting a closely-fought Spanish Grand Prix - and maybe even the fifth different winner in five races.”

McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh has come to the defence of Pirelli’s controvesial Formula One tyres.

Whitmarsh believes the tyres have improved the spectacle of the sport and disputes Michael Schumacher’s complaints that they are like driving on ‘raw eggs’.

The Mercedes driver moaned after the Bahrain race: “I just think that they’re playing a much too big effect because they are so peaky and so special that they don’t put our cars or ourselves to the limit.

“We drive like on raw eggs and I don’t want to stress the tires at all. Otherwise you just overdo it and you go nowhere.”

However, Whitmarsh, whose team is no stranger to problems dealing with the Pirelli rubber, argued that the criticism is wrong and that it requires skill to get the most out of the tyres.

He countered: “There’s no doubt the tyres are a definite challenge within Formula One and they have added to the spectacle.

“There’s also no doubt when a driver has had a bad race he will complain about them.

“But if they made tyres that were very robust and not challenging in terms of management from either the team or driver’s perspective then I’m sure the spectators will be critical of the tyres as they won’t create the right spectacle.

“In summary, they are challenging and there have been times when they have certainly given up.

“The last race in Bahrain was certainly one of those times, where we weren’t in the right window of operation and that affected our performance in the race quite dramatically.

“But I think it would be wrong to criticise the tyre. I think you’ve got to look at you as a team and what the drivers are doing and look at how to manage the situation.”

Mercedes racer Michael Schumacher is continuing to give Pirelli a verbal beating - this time complaining that driving with their tyres is like driving on ‘raw eggs’.

The seven-time world champion feels driver are being forced to conserve their tyres because they the rubber is suffering quick degradation.

Meanwhile, fellow F1 drivers have refused to be drawn into the debate, instead focusing on this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.

But Schumacher is adamant the situation needs to be addressed.

Schumacher told CNN: “I just think that they’re playing a much too big effect because they are so peaky and so special that they don’t put our cars or ourselves to the limit.

“We drive like on raw eggs and I don’t want to stress the tyres at all. Otherwise you just overdo it and you go nowhere.”

Pirelli have hit back at Schumacher’s claims, insisting the tyres were designed to meet the requests of Formula One bosses and that they have spiced up the action.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director, hit back at the criticism. “We are pushing the limits,’ he said.

“It’s a very, very aggressive approach that we took. It’s what we were asked to do. We were asked to bring challenges to the teams and this is what we’ve done.”

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

By Alex Kapadia

Formula One teams benefitted from extra running with Pirelli’s 2012 tyres at the first in-season test to take place since 2008.

The three-day session went ahead at Mugello in Italy – where Pirelli’s prototype Formula One tyres ran for the first time in August 2010.

The teams were allowed to use whichever tyres from their testing allocation of 100 sets per car per year remained to them, trying out all the slick compounds, including some runs on the supersoft during the final day.

The allocation of 100 tyres also includes the young driver test at the end of the year.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director, said: “With so few testing opportunities available over the course of the year, this was a valuable chance for the teams to expand their knowledge of the characteristics of our tyre range, as well as try out different upgrades before the European season begins next weekend.

“This is traditionally a time when teams introduce new parts, and with the competition now being closer than it has ever been before, understanding how the tyres interact with the latest car developments will be key to establishing an advantage.

“The opening day at Mugello was something of a wash-out, but the teams were able to complete some longer runs over the last two days with our medium and hard tyres in particular, enabling them to collect plenty of useful data. This will be extremely valuable when it comes to planning race strategy in future.”

By Alex Kapadia

Formula One teams are getting the chance to build up a greater understanding of how the Pirelli tyres work during a three-day test at Mugello in Italy.

The tests, which will run from the 1st to the 3rd of May, present the first time that in-season testing has been seen in F1 since September 2008.

But for Pirelli, Mugello has a much more recent significance, as it was where the company’s prototype F1 tyres first took to the track in August 2010, less than two months after it was confirmed the Italian tyre manufacturer was taking over from Bridgestone as the sports sole supplier of tyres.

Pirelli will bring all four slick compounds to Mugello – supersoft, soft, medium and hard – but the teams will only be able to use the tyres that are left to them out of their testing allocation of 100 sets of tyres per car per year.

The Cinturato intermediate and wet weather tyres will also be available at Mugello in case of rain.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director, commented: “The Mugello test will be very important when it comes to understanding the way in which the tyres work, and I’m sure that the teams will take away plenty of information that will allow their knowledge of the tyres to evolve as the season continues, which was exactly the case last year.

“As much as a battle between the drivers, it’s a technological battle between the engineers as well,
which is one of the many fascinating aspects of this sport.

“As well as accumulating more data, this test is also a valuable opportunity for some of the third drivers to get time in a Formula One car on the current tyres, which would be very difficult under normal circumstances.

“With the closest start to the championship that we have seen for a very long time, the competition has never been tighter – and the teams will be keen to take every advantage that they can from the next three days before the European season starts.

“For us, it’s nice to be going back to a track close to home, where the story of our latest Formula One campaign all beta.”

Pirelli must be revelling in all the publicity it is getting for its Formula One tyres.

The tyres manufacturer is on the receiving end of the credit and the blame for the current erratic results from the last four Grand Prix races, according to F1SA.com.

It is the first time in almost 30 years that four different cars, namely McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull, have won the opening four races of the season.

According to Marc Surer, Swiss commentator and former F1 driver: “The explanation is Pirelli, it’s the tyres.”

Surer told Austrian television Servus TV: “It’s been a question of who can make them work, and that is depending on a number of factors.”

The F1SA report details why some teams are struggling to get to grips with the tyres. It points out that some cars require the tyres to be running hot and working hard before they deliver their pace, whilst others only find the ’sweet spot’ in cold conditions.

Red Bull racer Jenson Button, who won at Melbourne, said: “We know we were slow (in Bahrain) but we don’t understand why.”

While Mercedes boss Norbert Haug points out: “The challenge is how to use the tyres, how to set up your car.”

And Red Bull’s Christian Horner agreed: “I think this year the tyre has dominated performance and I think it’s crucial to try and understand how they work.”

“It’s clear,” Lotus’ Eric Boullier added, “that the key for performance is the tyres.”

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher is fuming with Pirelli, accusing the Italian company of supplying tyres that do not befit Formula 1.

The Mercedes driver believes that the tyres are becoming too much of a big deal because of the level of wear and degradation they suffer.

However, Pirelli had been specifically asked to produces tyres to spice up the racing, after taking over from Bridgestone as the sole supplier from Bridgestone in 2011.

Schumacher complained: “Everyone has to drive well below a driver’s and, in particular, the car’s limits to maintain the tyres.”

Talking to reporters in the paddock of the Bahrain International Circuit after Sunday’s race in Sakhir, he added: “I’m not happy about the situation.

“I just question whether the tyres should play such a big importance.

“They should last a bit longer, and that you can drive at normal racing car speed and not cruise around like we have a safety car,” he added, pointing out that it wasn’t just one or two cars with the degradation issues but a good 80 per cent of the field who were suffering. “If it was a one-off car issue, you could say it’s up to us to deal with it.”

Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s director of motorsport, played down Schumacher’s comments, and said: “The competition has never been closer and part of that is down to the fact that everyone has exactly the same opportunities and challenges with the tyres. It is down to them to make the best of it.

“Formula one has always been a meritocracy - in the end the best engineers and drivers will always succeed.”

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

By Alex Kapadia

Tyres held the key to Sebastian Vettel’s victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix, after he selected a three-stop strategy to clinch his 22nd career win.

The Red Bull driver started off using the P Zero Yellow soft tyres, and then moved onto the P Zero White medium after 11 laps before completing his final stints on the P Zero Yellow soft followed by the P Zero White medium.

But it was Lotus who caused a sensation, with Kimi Raikkonen taking second place, followed by his team-mate Romain Grosjean.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director, commented: “This was certainly a very technically challenging race, on a circuit that we had never experienced in racing conditions before. Nonetheless, we chose to bring our soft compound together with the medium in order to provide plenty of opportunities for strategy.

“Although degradation was a factor in this race, which was already evident from the tactics adopted in qualifying, the tyres stood up extremely well to the demands that were placed on them.

“During the closing stages of the race, the priority for the drivers was to ensure that the tyres didn’t fall off ‘the cliff’ of performance: a task that they all managed very well.

“The closeness of the racing this year, during which we have narrowed the performance gap between our compounds, is reflected in the fact that we’ve seen four different winners in four races.

“It was also a great result for Lotus with two cars on the podium – and the first podium for our former test driver Romain Grosjean, who was with us when we tested at Bahrain in 2010: the experience was clearly useful to him. As for Kimi, he seems to have made the transition from our rally tyres to our P Zero race tyres pretty well!”