By Alex Kapadia

Pirelli is confident its latest generation of Formula One tyres have the potential to make for an exciting season in 2012, after this week’s test at Jerez in Spain.

Last year the tyres were praised for shaking up the racing, but towards the end of the year the teams started to get to grips with the different compounds and tended to spend as much time as possible on the softer version, making racing more predictable.

This year, according to ESPN F1, Pirelli has closed the performance gap between the compounds in order to give the teams more strategy options and wean them off the tendency to opt for softs.

The idea is to allow for reasonably high degradation levels on the faster super-soft and soft tyres, while offering more consistent medium and hard compounds.

That should create a crossover point in performance where teams will have to decide whether to opt for a new set of soft tyres or stick it out on a slower but longer lasting mediums or hards. After four days of pre-season testing at Jerez, Hembery said the early indication is that everything is going to plan.

Paul Hembery, the motorsport boss for the Italian tyres manufacturer, said: “You will get teams making a decision whether to make one pit stop less and stay out longer on the medium or hard tyre, whereas last season everybody would have pushed the maximum performance on the soft tyre because there was no advantage [in choosing the harder tyre] and the [performance] gap was so big between tyres that they couldn’t recuperate that 1.5 seconds with the degradation.

“So that’s the theory, practice is something else.”

He said the warm afternoons at Jerez had given the best indication that the gap between compounds is on target.

“In the afternoons when we get into 20C plus like today there is a good indications, particularly between the new soft compound and the medium, that 0.6s appears to be the performance difference, which on a 4km track is about what we were hoping for. The hard is more difficult because people have used it maybe in the morning and we haven’t got so much representative data. But we know the warm-up is better on the medium and hard tyre, which is a criticism we had last year, getting the tyres up to temperature particularly if some of the cars mid-grid had less downforce - that’s another positive comment we’ve had back.”

And he said drivers were reporting that degradation of the front tyres was becoming the limiting factor rather than the rears.

“The cars themselves are using the tyres better,” he said. “The profiles have meant that the wear profile is better. Here we’re front limited whereas most of last season we were front limited, which is good because you’ve got a better chance of causing some fronts some problems at a lot of circuits. We have to be happy.”

Formula One legend Michael Schumacher welcomed Pirelli’s new tyres for the 2012 season on the first day of testing earlier this week.

The Mercedes driver says that the new tyres are “a step forward” and that he noticed a big difference with the rear tyres.

Mercedes had trouble making the rapidly-degrading Pirelli tyres work during 2011, with the rear tyres suffering a notably higher rate of wear on the W02 than the cars of its rivals.

After running the W02 again on the first day at Jerez to evaluate the new compounds for this season, Schumacher said that they appeared to be easier to use.

“After a long break, it feels terrific being back in the car and hitting the circuit again,” Schumacher said.

“Our main job was to get a first impression of the tyres for 2012 and to start understanding them. They feel like a step forward, more consistent and comfortable to drive, and the biggest difference is with the rear tyre.

“Thanks to everybody at Pirelli for their good job this winter. Let’s see what we can learn tomorrow.”

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

By Alex Kapadia

The Formula One teams are getting to grips with Pirelli’s new tyres for the first time this year, as the 2012 season gets underway at Jerez in Spain this week.

During the four-day test at the Andalusian circuit, which runs until Friday, each car will have 25 sets of the Italian tyres manufacturer’s new soft, medium and hard compounds available, along with the wet tyres if needed.

Teams are allowed a maximum of 100 sets of tyres per car each year for testing purposes, and they are permitted to choose the compounds they would like to test within their allowance.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s Motorsport Director, said: “After a successful first season in 2011, we are determined to help provide an even better spectacle this year, which is why the entire tyre range has been renewed.

“At this early point, the emphasis for the teams is expected to be on learning the new tyres and it will be interesting to see which approach they take to that process.

“Last year, it didn’t take the teams long at all to understand the characteristics of our tyres, and while we are sure that this will be the case again, there will be less of an element of surprise this year, as to some extent the teams know what to expect from our products.

“This rapid pace of development and reaction is what makes Formula One our ultimate research tool, enhancing Pirelli’s status as the world leader in the Ultra High Performance sector.”

Experimental compounds for the 2012 tyres were tried out during some of the free practice sessions last year, as well as at the young driver test following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

However, the regular drivers now have the opportunity to test the new compounds together with the new profiles for the tyres, which this year are much ‘squarer’ in order to provide a greater contact patch and deliver a longer period of peak performance, while maintaining an overall lifespan in the region of 100 kilometres.

Formula One is the pinnacle of Pirelli’s investment in worldwide motorsport - but the Italian tyres manufacturer isn’t just in it to raise brand awareness.

According the Pirelli, motorsport has consistently been the company’s most important research laboratory from which the Group has developed some of the industry-defining innovations in the tyre sector.

Pirelli will supply a total of 45,000 tyres for the entirety of the 2012 Formula One World Championship.

The tyres for the top level of world motorsport will be produced at Pirelli’s dedicated competition facility within the factory at Izmit, Turkey, which is one of the most advanced of its kind in the world.

Pirelli’s engineers have put in place state-of-the-art machinery and innovative technologies to make tyres that are perfectly suited to the demands of grand prix racing.

At races and during official tests, the Pirelli F1 team numbers 50 specialists, from engineers to technicians. Each Formula One team relies on one dedicated Pirelli engineer, as well as on the entire squad of technicians and fitters.

Pirelli’s F1 team is made up of people who come from all four corners of the globe, but is based in Milan: Pirelli’s Research and Development headquarters. This department has always been at the heart of the Pirelli Group’s cutting-edge technology and employs 1,000 researchers, located in five centres around the world.

Pirelli is also the exclusive supplier to some of the world’s most important motorsport championships, both on two and four wheels – such as the GP2 and GP3 Series and the World Superbike Championship.

On top of this, the Italian firm supplies more than 70 national and international race and rally series, having been the exclusive tyre provider to the World Rally Championship from 2008-2010.

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

By Alex Kapadia

Pirelli has got its second season as the sole tyres supplier to Formula One underway by presenting its new range of rubber.

The Italian tyre manufacturer has made all four dry-weather tyres softer and reduced the differences between them, in the hope of producing even closer racing.

Pirelli introduced faster-wearing tyres last year, leading to tight races, and now aim to improve overtaking.

Pirelli president Marco Tronchetti Provera said: “These changes will provide more opportunity for passes and help make a better show.”

The new tyres were presented for the 63rd FIA World Championship at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi. Tronchetti added: “After the positive experience of last year, the teams asked us to continue providing tyres with the characteristics that contributed to spectacular races in 2011.

“And this is what we have done, optimising the compounds and profiles in order to guarantee even better and more stable performance, combined with the deliberate degradation that characterised the P Zero range from 2011.

“We’re expecting unpredictable races, with a wide range of strategies and a number of pit stops: all factors that both competitors and spectators greatly enjoyed last year.

“The development work on the new compounds took place throughout the 2011 season, thanks to the impressive learning curve and reaction times from our engineers, who are ready to continue those evolutions during the season ahead.”

By Alex Kapadia

Former Formula One world champion has admitted that getting to grips with the Pirelli tyres will be his biggest challenge as he prepares to re-launch his racing One career.

The new Lotus driver won his title and a host of other wins on Bridgestone tyres. But the Italian tyres manufacturer took over the role last season.

The former McLaren and Ferrari driver feels that acclimatising to Pirelli rubber will prove to be his stiffest test.

He said: “The braking distances, the G-forces, the acceleration, those will come back very quickly. Getting on top of the tyres will be the hardest thing, of course, but I’m not really worried. I don’t think I’ve lost any speed.”

The 2007 world champion was speaking after he took to the wheel of a 2010 spec car at Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo circuit where he is getting up to speed following two years away from the grand prix scene.

After trying his hand at rallying and in Nascar Trucks, Raikkonen claimed his has rediscovered his passion for Formula One, according to the report in the Daily Mail.

Pirelli is on the hunt for a suitable car to help it test the new tyres it is developing for the 2013 Formula 1 season.

The Italian tyres manufacturer has been in talks with the teams over a suitable machine for its test programme to succeed the 2009 Toyota TF109 that it has previously used, according to the AUTOSPORT report.

However, Paul Hembery, Pirelli motorsport director, claims that teams are reluctant to run the risk of any squad gaining an advantage by having its 2011 machine used for testing.

This is despite all data being shared openly between the teams and Pirelli using its own test driver to conduct the work.

“There has been a suggestion that we could modify the 2009 Toyota, but the car is now in a museum and it is not a realistic proposition,” Hembery told AUTOSPORT. “We’ve not yet been given what we think is a suitable option.

“We would like a 2011 car from somebody, but we don’t really care who it is from. We want to do our testing with precision and feel that the older the car gets, the further away it is from a state of the art car.

“We understand the teams’ point of view that they don’t want to give an advantage to anybody, but at a certain point we will have to make our own decision to achieve what we have to because nobody will give us any credit for not using a suitable car if things go wrong.”

Discussions with the teams are ongoing and Pirelli is keen to come to a consensus solution. But Hembery admitted that it was possible that the company could opt to do a deal with an individual team directly if no acceptable car is agreed upon.

“It’s quite possible, yes,” said Hembery when asked if Pirelli could buy a car from a team. “We are not interested in assisting one particular team and we need to do our job. We have some interesting ideas for 2013, but need to do work on them.

“We are going to do a lot on the simulator and probably we will do work with the teams in simulation by giving them all a black box with 20 specifications and ask them to drive on them. That I certainly don’t exclude and I’m sure they will agree.

“But In terms of finalising the tyres, particularly the compound work, we do need a number of sessions. No more than three probably, just to finalise the work. We will get there, I’m sure.”

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

If you’re not one of the special, chosen few who are on the mailing list to receive the coveted Pirelli calendar, you can get a little peak by going onto the Italian tyres manufacturers website.

British models Kate Moss and Lara Stone grace the glossy pages of the 2012 edition of ‘The Cal’ which was shot by Mario Sorrenti, the first Italian photographer in the history of a calendar that has become a cult.

Sorrenti chose the island of Corsica and its rugged landscape to create his ‘swoon’: ecstasy captured by images.

“The intense relationship between a photographer and his Muse is the very essence of the creation of a strong aesthetic dialogue which leads to the sublimation of natural beauty,” he explained.

“In making “The Cal™”, I approached the subjects of my pictures by building a straightforward, intimate and real relationship which made it possible for me to instill the images with purity.

“In “swoon”, I put the bodies in direct contact with Nature, which harbors them as if they were its extension, in a set of images where rocks, land, tree trunks, sky and sea are all turned into a backdrop for the bodies.”

The 25 pictures of the 2012 “Calendario Pirelli” eighteen black and white and seven colour – are presented in a refined, canvas-lined portfolio, a format that has never been used before.

For a closer look go to http://www.pirelli.com/corporate/en/company/brand/calendar/cal-12/default.html.

Denna Bowman, Head Office

Pirelli tyres has announced it is extending its contract with the British Rally Championship for a further two years.

The Italian tyres manufacturer has been providing control tyres to the series since 2007, with the previous agreement due for completion at the end of 2012.

However, as part of its ongoing commitment to national-level motorsport, Pirelli has signed a deal with BRC organisers to ensure it is sole tyre provider until the end of 2014.

Carl Naylor, motorsport manager for Pirelli, said: “Each of the six rallies have different surfaces and challenges that place a whole range of demands upon the tyre.

“This not only enables the drivers to learn a range of driving skills and techniques, but means that they have to learn tyre control and strategy; an important part of being a world-class rally driver.

“We have provided the Pirelli Scorpion K6 gravel tyre and K4 tarmac tyre to the series for a number of years now and drivers have found them to be extremely durable and reliable while offering them the grip required of these demanding rally stages.

“We’re really pleased to be able to commit to the BRC for a further two years and believe that with all the changes being made this year, it’s going to be a very exciting series to be involved in. This deal also takes in the Pirelli Star Driver programme for 2013 and 2014.”

Denna Bowman, Head Office

Pirelli tyres is making the most of its appearance at the Autosport International Show this week with an exciting announcement and a host of guest appearances on its stand.

First the Italian tyres manufacturer has announced a new control tyre sponsorship with the Mini Challenge - just a year after taking over from Bridgestone as the sole supplier of tyres to Formula One.

Pirelli is also displaying several exciting competition cars at the show which runs until 15th January in Birmingham, according to Tyres and Accessories.

Dominic Sandivasci, Pirelli UK managing director, said: “We’re delighted to present every facet of our competition business at the Autosport International Show: the premier motorsport show in the world, which is very close to our Burton upon Trent base.”

Pirelli is also set to unveil the latest livery for the Pirelli Star Driver UK programme and is playing host to motorsport personalities, including Fifth Gear presenter and Pirelli F1 blogger Tiff Needell and Pirelli’s Motorsport director Paul Hembery.

As well as the current range of modern road car tyres, Pirelli’s new historic rally tyre – the GM6 – will be on display. This tyre took former British Champion Gwyndaf Evans to a dominant eight-minute victory on the Roger Albert Clark Rally, its UK debut – and the Ford Escort that he used to win it will also be exhibited on the Pirelli stand.

Denna Bowman, Head Office