Pirelli: 2016 tyres an evolution despite more potential

Pirelli motorsport boss Paul Hembery says 2016 will see an evolution of the tyre manufacturer’s compounds because teams have not asked for maximum performance.

F1 has asked for Pirelli to deliver on average between two and three pit stops per race to help encourage variations in strategies and aid overtaking. While unhappy with some of the negative comments Pirelli has received - particularly after Sebastian Vettel’s tyre failure late in the race in Belgium - Hembery says the manufacturer is happy to continue delivering tyres with a limited lifespan even though it is not allowed to show its full potential as a result.

“We’re being asked to do two or three stops, we’re not being asked to go all out with performance and there’s probably a couple of seconds to easily be gained in terms of performance with the current tyre if you went around,” Hembery told F1i.

“And that’s still in a single [tyre] make series, with competition you’d have different compounds for every circuit and probably different structures for each circuit and ideally work with one chassis and optimise the package.

“Those days are long gone but overall we’re very happy. We know that next year will be more or less similar. We’ve got a new ultrasoft coming which will help on some of the street circuits. It may provide an aggressive option for places like Abu Dhabi where it probably could come out as a qualifying tyre, but overall it will just be an evolution of this year.”

Pirelli had just one 12-hour day of testing in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2015 to develop next year’s tyres, while it will also carry out two days of wet tyre testing at Paul Ricard from January 25-26.