The latest news from the world of Formula One is that Pirelli tyres will officially launch its 2012 Formula One season later this month, according to the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat.

The report said the Italian tyres manufacturer’s President Marco Tronchetti Provera will be present at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina circuit when this year’s tyres and markings are revealed on 25 January.

Less than two weeks later, the teams will begin official pre-season testing at Jerez.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport boss, revealed at AUTOSPORT International that work continues on finalising the compounds for 2012 and he remains satisfied with the direction of the development.

“The hard, medium and soft compounds are changing,” he said. “We are making the performance differences between them much closer together and faster as well.

“We’ve changed the profile on the rear tyre and done a bit of work on the construction to try and get a little bit more footprint because we assume, maybe incorrectly, that there will be a little less downforce in 2012 – at least at the start of the season.

“But with the knowledge we now have, because not every circuit was known to us before F1, then we can make more aggressive compound selections for each race.

“Martin Whitmarsh gave a comment in Brazil when he said he wants Pirelli to challenge us again and push the barriers so that’s what we will be trying to do.”

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

It has taken Lamborghini researchers and Pirelli engineers two years to perfect the tyres for the jaw-dropping Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4.

According to the Italian tyres manufacturer, that’s: “Two years, two years dreaming of a more sportive car with increased performance whilst being more environmentally friendly.”

And this is what Giorgio Sanna, the Chief Test Driver of Lamborghini, had to say about the partnership: “Both sleek and graceful the Aventador LP 700-4 accentuates the Lamborghini DNA from every angle.

“Firstly, the Aventador is the epitome of style. The iconic scissor doors contribute to its outstanding design and the slashes through the surface give it a sense of vigor even when the engine is not running.

“Secondly, comfort is also a strong feature of the car. Weighing slightly over 1500 kg, the 700 horsepower engine takes just 2.9 seconds to reach a speed of 100 km/h – feel the driving comfort even at higher speeds. The pleasure of driving is one of the characteristics Lamborghini looks for in its cars and it’s acknowledged as one of the features of Pirelli P Zero™ Tyres. The specific tread pattern design and robust tyre shoulders offer superb car handling allowing the Aventador LP 700-4 optimum performance both into and throughout cornering, even in the most demanding road conditions.

“And, last but not least, safety is the element on which both Pirelli and Lamborghini won’t compromise. New compounds and a maximised footprint allow the Pirelli P Zero™ Tyres to reach exceptional levels of safety in braking whilst the specific tread pattern characteristics give the maximum grip even in wet conditions.”

Denna Bowman, Head Office

Former Formula One World Champion Kimi Raikkonen is gearing up to make a come-back two years after quitting the sport.

And the Finnish driver, who won the 2007 world title with Ferrari, sees getting grips with the new Pirelli tyres his biggest challenge.

Raikkonen, who quit F1 in 2009 and switched to rallying, will return to the sport driving for Lotus Renault, said: “I can’t wait to get behind the wheel.

“I am more motivated than ever and I don’t think I’ve lost any speed.

“Before my two years of rallying, I had 18 wins in Formula One. I feel like I’m coming home.”

After a 20-year absence, Pirelli came back into F1 last season to replace Bridgestone. The 32-year-old racer said: “The tyres will be the hardest thing, of course, but I’m not really worried.”

His arrival back on the grid will tie Sebastian Vettel - who dominated F1 this season - another former world champion to contend with.

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/motorsport/f1news/2011/12/22/kimi-raikkonen-relishing-his-return-to-the-f1-action-115875-23652649/#ixzz1hsFxIMNg

e excited with his return to Formula One and feels that it’s like a home coming to him.
He also admits that he is more motivated than ever to hit the track. He said” I have had 18 Formula One wins before changing to rallying. I just can’t wait to get behind the wheels.”
Raikkonen considers driving with the new Pirelli tyres as his biggest challenge now. “The tyres will be the hardest thing, of course, but I’m not really worried,” he said.
With Raikkonen joining Formula One current champion Sebastian Vettel will have to face much more competition now.

Red Bull driver Mark Webber admitted he ended the 2011 Formula One season feeling “completely at home” on the Pirelli tyres.

The Australian racer struggled to get to grips with the tyres at the start of the season and had to work through issues that were holding him back in qualifying. He finished the season with just one win compared to 11 racked up his by team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who secured the World Champion title.

The tyre compounds are set to be tweaked again before the start of the 2012 season, but after getting his first taste of the 2012 Pirellis during some of the Friday practice sessions at the end of the season, Webber said he feels comfortable on the new-style tyres.

Webber said: “The biggest thing [in 2011] was the teams and the drivers ultimately got on top of the tyres.

“It was such a big learning curve for everyone initially and you saw that with the racing as well - the racing softened up towards the end of the year because everyone got their heads round it, although not completely.

“They are a different tyre to what we had and that’s for us to get on with that. Pirelli did a good job to take a lot of the tyres they were looking at for 2012 to the last few races to do some development work. Even when I ran those tyres in Abu Dhabi and Brazil and did bits and bobs on them I felt completely at home on them, so that was encouraging for myself and also for the team.”

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

By Denna Bowman

The 2012 edition of the Pirelli Calendar was previewed by the world’s media today.

The unveiling of the Italian tyres manufacturers annual calendar took place at “The Armory”, the 19th century New York City military landmark.

The 39th issue of ‘The Cal™’ is the work of Mario Sorrenti, the first Italian photographer in the history of a calendar that has become a cult.

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

“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.

The 2012 Calendar features nine models, including Kate Moss and Lara Stone and and three actresses, including Milla Jovovich.

Formula One fans should check out the Pirelli website to get the low-down on all the tyres facts for the last season.

The Italian tyres manufacturer has compiled an extensive list containing everything you need to know about tyres and the Pirelli roadshow for the 2011 season.

This is just a taster:

* the total number of tyres provided for the season (dry and wets): Race tyres: 24,000 dry tyres; 4,600 wet tyres plus an additional 6,000 for the tests

* the average life span of a dry compound this season: 120 km

* total number of pit stops for the year: 1111 (really! – of which 22 were a Drive Through and 4 a stop-go penalty)

* average time taken for a Pirelli fitter to fit an F1 tyre from scratch: 2m30s.

There’s even a section on the trucks and hospitality - for example, they served 43,250 cups of espresso during the season.

For the full report go to http://www.pirelli.com/tyre/ww/en/news/2011/11/27/2011-pirelli-formula-one-statistics/.

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

Pirelli is celebrating the end of its first season as the sole tyres supplier to Formula One following Red Bull driver Mark Webber’s victory at the the Brazlian Grand Prix today.

Paul Hembery, the Italian tyres manufacturers motorsport director, said: “This didn’t turn out to be the race that most people expected, with the predicted rain holding off.

“At the last race of the season there were a few mechanical issues for some cars, but our tyres were completely reliable – as they have been all year, with no structural failures – and we achieved our objective of having a performance gap of less than a second between the compounds, which should be the case next year as well.

“It’s been a season that has, if anything, exceeded our expectations – where we’ve seen the most overtaking in the history of the Formula One World Championship – and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of our team in Milan, Didcot and Izmit for their extraordinary work this season.

“They should all be proud of their achievements. I’d also like to thank all the teams and drivers for their unstinting support, advice and partnership.”

Alex Kapadia

By Alex Kapadia

Two-time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel used Pirelli tyres to become the first driver who has scored the most pole positions in one season.

The Red Bull racer put in the record-breaking performance at the first qualifying session for Pirelli’s new Yellow soft compound tyres today ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The new tyre will form the basis of the medium tyre for the 2012 season. As well as the soft compound, the other nominated tyre for the Brazilian Grand Prix is the current P Zero White medium.

By claiming his 15th pole position at the 19th and last grand prix of the year, Vettel the Red Bull beats the record established by Nigel Mansell back in 1992.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director, said: “It was interesting for us to see the performance of our new compound in qualifying conditions, and I’d like to congratulate Sebastian Vettel for breaking the record of the most number of poles in one season with a spectacular lap: I actually had a bet with one of my colleagues that somebody would get under the 1m12s mark today.

“After the threat of rain didn’t materialise, it turned out to be a reasonably straightforward qualifying, but most people are expecting a much more mixed up race tomorrow.

“That’s obviously going to have a huge impact on the strategy, so we may well see our P Zero Orange wet tyres and P Zero Blue intermediates making their final appearance of the year.”

By Alex Kapadia

Pirelli is set to round off the final race of its debut Formula One season with two new tyres at the Brazilian Grand Prix this weekend.

The Italian tyres manufacturer will provide teams with two extra sets of an experimental hard tyre for the Friday’s two free practice sessions at the iconic Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo.

The tyre is considerably softer than the current hard. The results will be fed back to Pirelli’s engineers as they prepare for the 2012 season.

For the race itself the P Zero Yellow soft and P Zero White medium tyres have been nominated. However, the soft tyre that has been nominated is another new compound, which was tested by the teams during the young driver test at Abu Dhabi last week and during Friday free practice at the Nurburgring.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director, said: “Preparations for the 2012 season are well underway, so it will be really interesting to hear the thoughts of the drivers about the new hard and soft tyres that we will be trying out in Brazil.

“We’ve already collected plenty of information on the new soft tyre from the young driver test, so it will be useful to compare that to real race data.

“It’s important not to get too distracted by the names of the tyres though: what we’re calling a ‘soft’ for now could end up as a medium for next year, as that’s what the testing process is all about.

“In general, the tyres are going to be less conservative next year as the second half of this season has shown how well the teams have understood our product, allowing us to make some reasonably aggressive choices such as supersoft and soft for Korea.

“We’re delighted to be ending the season in Brazil: not only is it a legendary circuit with an amazing atmosphere but it is also a key market for Pirelli.”

Pirelli confirmed it gained ‘plenty of useful information’ about the Formula One tyres for 2012 after the successful completion of the three-day young driver test which took place straight after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director, said: “Even though the young drivers did not have the same experience as the regular drivers, we were able to collect plenty of useful information and feedback.

“The results of the test were very much in line with our expectations, so we’re pleased with the work that has been carried out, in very demanding track conditions.

“This gives us a useful base to work from as we continue to refine our 2012 range of tyres, which should bring even more performance and spectacle to Formula One next year.”

All the teams participated in the test, which was designed for them to assess potential young drivers for the future. At the same time, Pirelli took advantage of the test to try out some of the new P Zero tyres that will be seen next year. The new front and rear profiles were assessed, together with a new potential soft compound.