Fernando Alonso is F1′s ‘driver of the decade’, according to Pedro de la Rosa.
The HRT driver said that, in his opinion, his Spanish countryman has been even better in F1′s modern history than Michael Schumacher, who won every world championship between 2000 and 2004.

Alonso, now at Ferrari, won his titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006.

De la Rosa told Mundo Deportivo: “I think Fernando was the best of the decade, over Michael.

“Why? Because no matter what the rules, he was always on top; with grooved tyres, with slicks, with blown diffusers, with double diffusers, with Pirelli, Bridgestone, Michelin …

“If you look at it, he is the most complete.”

As for the 2012 contest, however, de la Rosa has another favourite. Asked to pick this season’s champion, he hesitated before answering: “I think (Lewis) Hamilton.”

Pirelli racing boss Paul Hembery has played down suggestions the tyre marque has a bad reputation when it comes to formula one.

Even though a Pirelli-shod car won a grand prix during the company’s last F1 foray in 1991, some figures have suggested that the tyres supplied during that period were inconsistent.

“Some people like to live in the past,” Hembery is quoted by Germany’s Auto Bild.

“Of course we had this problem, but what we had developed was a very aggressive qualifying tyre.  In the last 20 years, the rules and technologies have changed significantly,” he added.

Another suggestion is that F1′s selection of Pirelli as Bridgestone’s official supplier successor is a risk.

Instead, the sport could have opted for Michelin, who were last in F1 less than four years ago.

Hembery said: “We know the characteristics of many of the European tracks from GP3.  The overseas tracks are largely unknown to us.

“We will therefore take an accordingly conservative approach to the selection of rubber compounds,” he revealed.

And he denied that the selection of Pirelli gives Ferrari an advantage.

“The only advantage for Ferrari is that we both speak Italian and like pasta,” Hembery joked.

He said every team, to each pay Pirelli between EUR 1 and 1.5 million next year, will receive ten sets of prototype tyres to test after November’s season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Felipe Massa has dismissed suggestions he has lost some of his edge after returning to formula one from serious injury.
The Brazilian, after almost clinching the 2008 title and initially leading Ferrari alongside Kimi Raikkonen in 2009, missed most of the second half of last season after his horror qualifying accident in Hungary.

So far in 2010, the 29-year-old has usually struggled for pace relative to the sister F10 driven by Fernando Alonso, and is 31 points behind his Spanish teammate.

But when asked if there is a link between his crash last year and his slump in form, Massa is quoted by Brazil’s Globo: “They are separate problems.

“This championship has been a little worse than I expected, but I know why. It’s not because of my accident but the problems I’ve having with the tyres.

“I’m just the same as I was before. I know that if everything had gone in the right direction, I would be fighting for the title.”

When asked about Massa in an interview with Spain’s AS newspaper, Alonso answered: “I think he is a very competitive driver, very fast, and not just in qualifying but also consistently in the race.

“Felipe is the toughest teammate I have had. Sometimes it was harder to beat Fisichella and Trulli, but I was not as good a driver back then.

“Hamilton was different, he came straight from GP2 at the same time we went from Michelin to Bridgestone, so he had tyres much like he had used in GP2. For sure he’s one of the best.

“In terms of talent, my current teammate (Massa) is one of the best,” insisted Alonso.

Pirelli on Wednesday is tipped to finally be approved as formula one’s new tyre supplier for 2011.

With the teams’ FOTA group signing a letter of intent to be supplied by the Italian brand, and contracts having apparently also been signed with Bernie Ecclestone, the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council is set to meet in Geneva.

Media reports, including by Italy’s Autosprint, claim one outcome of the meeting could be the announcement of a three-year official supply deal for Pirelli.

FIA president Jean Todt recently appeared keener on seeing Michelin return to formula one, but after a meeting in Paris is believed to have now approved the Pirelli deal.

It is also believed the possibility of disciplinary action against the failed 2010 team USF1 will be decided in Geneva on Wednesday.

(GMM)

Formula one drivers remain unimpressed with the design of Bridgestone’s 2010 tyre.

Up and down pitlane, ‘getting these tyres to work’ is the enigmatic and universal question, which for some teams and drivers is more of a problem than elsewhere.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, for example, needs warm weather, a soft tyre compound and an abrasive track surface to be as quick as his teammate Fernando Alonso.

“It has little to do with racing when you are so dependent on the tyres,” the Brazilian is quoted by Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

He is frustrated that some of his rivals, like McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, have the Bridgestone’s working “on the first flying lap”.

Nico Rosberg said in Canada that his problem was getting the car to work with the tyres, and even teammate Michael Schumacher’s vast experience of 256 grands prix is not providing the answer.

“These tires are a puzzle that is very difficult to work out,” said the Mercedes driver.

Schumacher added: “Often it changes from day to day, due to one or two factors.”

It is believed the issue is the design of the tyre carcass, much stiffer than in the past in order to prevent the type of problem experienced by Michelin at Indianapolis in 2005.

But it means some drivers have trouble getting the tyre up to temperature.

“You can see quite clearly that Hamilton’s aggressive driving style means he can get the tyres working more easily than Button can,” said Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn.
(GMM)

Jun.18 (GMM)  If the F1 teams and Bernie Ecclestone want to do a deal with Pirelli, the FIA will have to go along with it.

That is the claim of an unnamed team boss, amid rumours the president of F1′s governing body Jean Todt is pushing for Michelin to re-enter the sport as the new tyre supplier.

It is believed commercial contracts with F1 chief executive Ecclestone have now been signed by Pirelli, while the teams group FOTA has signed a letter of intent to be supplied by the Milan based company from 2011.

The final hurdle is said to be the consent of the World Motor Sport Council next week.

But the unnamed boss told France’s Auto Hebdo magazine: “The FIA manages the regulations, but it is not possible to impose on teams something they don’t want.

“Certainly, (the FIA) can boycott a decision of FOTA, but I think Ecclestone has enough power.”

Jun.17 (GMM)  Gerhard Berger has dismissed claims that Pirelli is a questionable choice as formula one’s new tyre supplier.

Although the news is not yet official, it is now expected that the Italian company will succeed the departing Bridgestone — with confirmation coming possibly at next week’s meeting of the World Motor Sport Council.

The other serious contender has been Michelin, Bridgestone’s most recent tyre competitor between 2001 and 2006 with 43 grand prix wins in this period, and utterly dominant in 2005.

The fact that Pirelli’s proposal is the one that has gained the majority of support has therefore been surprising to some; not only because it has absent from F1 since 1991, but also because the development time for 2011 is now so short.

Moreover, there has been some criticism in the past during Pirelli’s forays in world superbike racing as well as world rallying.  The Milan based brand is currently also the GP3 supplier and tipped for a deal with GP2 for 2011 and beyond.

“This (criticism) is absolute nonsense,” Berger, who won the 1986 Mexican grand prix with Pirelli tyres and Benetton in 1986, told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

“Pirelli equips the fastest sports cars in the world.  There are also people in formula one who have been successful with Pirelli,” added the Austrian.

Pirelli’s last grand prix win was with Nelson Piquet and Benetton in Montreal in 1991.

On his visit to last weekend’s Canadian grand prix, director of motor sport Paul Hembery declined to comment.

Jun.14 (GMM)  Pirelli has edged yet closer to becoming F1′s new official tyre supplier. The Milan based company’s only competition for the deal, Michelin, is close to falling out of the running.

“The development time for 2011 seems very compromised now,” managing partner Didier Miraton said at Le Mans, according to L’Equipe.

Spotted in Montreal on Sunday was Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s competition director, for talks with the teams association FOTA.

It is believed that, some days ago, contracts were drawn up and signed with the representative of F1′s commercial rights holder, Bernie Ecclestone.

The final hurdle is the signing off by the FIA’s legal department.

Michelin’s Miraton indicated that the French company is essentially now out of the running.

“It is probably too late for the deadlines of next year,” he continued.  “We have intervened to help, modestly, but at the rate things are going, I’m pessimistic.”

Another stumbling block for Michelin has been the lack of widespread desire for a change of rules allowing more than one tyre supplier at a time.

“When there is only one manufacturer, there is no competition, no progress, no pleasure and the interest in the manufacturer is low,” said Miraton.

The tires are putting confusion in Formula 1 It is still unclear which tire manufacturers in 2011 awarded the contract – Bridgestone stretches back even with the end of this season from the “king class” of motorsports. While Pirelli has already claimed that the deal should be confirmed with the FIA between the races in Montreal and Valencia, is how the French competition is still not out of the race.

Michelin motorsport director Nick Shorrock, who negotiated in Istanbul with the teams expected to ‘Autosport’ soon a decision, “urges the time to develop a product that is reliable, has good power and above all things is secure. Michelin has an enormous competitive experience in Formula 1 and this gives us a strong base in the development of each tire. The sooner the better, because then we can seriously start working. ”

According to Shorrock, the teams have to rely on an early decision, because “you start at this time to work on next year’s car. When one around June or July is not your turn, you will have problems.”
(TotalMotorsports)

un.8 (GMM)  It may be “weeks” before F1′s new tyre supplier for 2011 and beyond is confirmed, Pirelli president Marco Tronchetti Provera said on Tuesday.

Despite a final recent push from Michelin, it is now expected that the Milan based company will succeed the departing Bridgestone as formula one’s sole supplier.

F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone left Turkey frustrated that a decision is being delayed, but the teams said they expected a solution within days.

“We need to sort this out this week because it is already very, very late for us,” said Ferrari’s Stefano Domenicali before departing Istanbul.

On Tuesday, the bulk of the F1 world is busily travelling to Canada, making it clear that yet another race weekend will be dominated by the discussions about tyres.

But in Milan, Pirelli’s Provera indicated that he is not expecting an imminent conclusion.

“The decision will be taken soon.  It’s a question of weeks, not months,” he said.

In an interview with French newspaper Le Parisien published on Tuesday, FIA president Jean Todt also indicated that the process about selecting Bridgestone’s successor still has some road to run.

“It (the FIA) will soon launch a tender, with the commercial promoter of the championship, Bernie Ecclestone,” he said.

“FOTA may suggest that it decides, but the strong man is not he who speaks the loudest,” added Todt.

Jun.8 (GMM)  Hankook is no longer in the running to supply tyres to F1 teams in 2011, but the Korean company is not ruling out another bid within the next “two or three years”.

Michelin, Kumho and Avon were also interested in replacing the sport’s departing official supplier Bridgestone, but it is believed Pirelli is now in pole position for the deal.

But executive vice president Hyan Bum Cho told the Sydney Morning Herald that Seoul-based Hankook might be interested in succeeding the Italian marque.

“Currently we do have a little Le Mans team, and some rally teams here and there, and we try to sell some motor sports tyres,” he is quoted by the Australian newspaper.

“In the future we want to have some hefty market share in that segment.  It’s quite profitable, but in order to really leverage from motor sports in terms of brands, you need to participate in either world rally championship or a very high segment in Le Mans, or formula one,” added Cho.

“So in the future that’s the target that we have, to participate in those segments.  And that’s going to cost a lot of money, a lot of development cost, a lot of investment, and also how to run these operations with experience.”

Hankook’s Cho confirmed that becoming the new formula one supplier next year was discussed.

“Probably you know that Mr Ecclestone has some trouble with tyres this year.  I talked to him personally (but) we decided not to go on with the programme.

“He needed a tyre very, very quick, and we could not prepare it,” Cho admitted.

“But we had a very good talk and maybe we’ll have a shot for next term, or another term.”

Jun.7 (GMM)  Pirelli has won the race to become F1′s new sole tyre supplier beginning in 2011.

The same news was reported by multiple sources prior to the Turkish grand prix, but Michelin then made a last-ditch attempt to woo the teams by calling a meeting in the paddock of the Istanbul Park circuit.

Once again, after yet another non-grand prix week of negotiations, it is believed that Milan-based Pirelli has secured the deal.

As was also the case prior to Turkey, it is more than one source within the Italian media that is hinting at the latest development.

The authoritative daily La Gazzetta dello Sport, for one, claims that the finishing touches are being made to a contract that will be signed by the end of the week.

Prior to Turkey, it was reported that the Pirelli deal for 2011-2013 was to cost teams 1 million euros apiece per season, in exchange for identical attention and service and a range of just three compounds: soft, medium and hard.

At least initially, the tyres will be in a similar 13-inch specification to the current Bridgestone product, with a longer-term ambition being a move to a low profile.

It had also been reported that Pirelli, already the supplier of the new GP3 series as well as world rally, is likely to also supply GP2 next year.

Pirelli was last in F1 in 1991.

Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali agrees there should be some specific track testing for F1′s new 2011 tyre supplier.

FOTA technical chief Ross Brawn said in Turkey that despite the in-season testing ban, there should be some running exempted for the development of the new tyres in the “late summer and early winter”.

Mercedes reserve driver Nick Heidfeld recently put his hand up to do some tyre testing this year, as current supplier Bridgestone is set to be replaced by either Pirelli or Michelin for the 2011 season.

Domenicali agrees that tyre testing will be a priority.

“Yes, this is what we have to discuss with the tyre manufacturer as soon as we have decided and we know who will be the supplier for next year,” he said.

It is suggested that, due to the late appointment of a new supplier, tyre tests have become even more necessary, given the short development lead-time and the danger that cars and tyres will not be ideally optimised.

“Clearly we need to have some specific testing to make sure the tyres are sorted properly,” agreed Brawn.

“It may take a few iterations to get where we want to be and undoubtedly there will be a degree of conservatism at the beginning because we can’t afford to have any problems with compounds.

“But we’re all there to help the new tyre supplier and I think we’ve got a good chance of success,” he added.

(GMM)

Bernie Ecclestone is not happy that the formula one circus departed Turkey last weekend without resolving the issue of tyre supply for 2011.

The sport touched down at Istanbul Park amid strong speculation that Pirelli had been selected and would be confirmed as F1′s new supplier by the time the event was over.

But according to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, it was FOTA’s powerful teams McLaren, Ferrari and Renault who invited Michelin’s Nick Shorrock to make a presentation to all the teams on Sunday.

Indeed, Shorrock indicated to Auto Hebdo in an interview that Michelin’s proposal had not substantially changed.

“We realised that it could be helpful to come and explain in more detail to all the teams the detail of our proposal,” he said.

“The goal of the meeting was simply to go into more detail,” added Shorrock.

Williams’ Adam Parr emerged from the 90 minute meeting and said: “It is taking a bit longer than we would have liked but it should be done in the next few days.”

F1 chief executive Ecclestone is unhappy it is taking this long.

“Why keep talking about it; everything has been discussed,” said the 79-year-old Briton.  “We should sign a contract now.”

It is believed Pirelli remains in pole position for the deal, given Michelin’s insistence that the rules be changed to allow the possibility of more than one tyre supplier entering the sport.

“This is more of a philosophical question for Michelin,” FOTA chairman and McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh said.

“They would be happy to be alone for five years, but on paper they need for there to be the chance of having a competitor.”

(GMM)

Because the decision about next year’s supplier is taking so long, F1 teams are designing their 2011 cars around the current specification of Bridgestone tyre.

The Japanese marque is departing the sport, and it had been expected that the Italian company Pirelli would be unveiled this weekend as successor.

But Michelin has thrown a spanner in the works, sending competition boss Nick Shorrock to Istanbul, where a 90 minute meeting on Sunday resulted in the teams still not deciding on an outcome for next year’s world championship.

“It’s going to take a little while longer,” Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn told Reuters in Turkey.

But the teams’ designers are out of time, and leading outfits are getting anxious.

“It’s already late and we cannot really waste more time on it,” said Ferrari’s Stefano Domenicali.

Brawn said the teams are handling the situation by producing a “technical specification” of the tyre they want for 2011, and are therefore able to continue with plans for next year’s cars.

“Our cars are being designed around the current tyres because we have no other information,” he explained.

(GMM)