Pirelli refuse to get into bidding war for F1 deal extension

Pirelli tyres have been in the news this weekend as the tyre manufacturer decided to dish out ‘thinner’ tyres in order to prevent blistering and overheating in Barcelona.

The tyres did hold up for most and helped the teams in Barcelona, despite there being whispers about some Mercedes involvement in that Pirelli move.

Pirelli is now back in the news as it has been conveyed to their shareholders that Pirelli’s participation in Formula 1 post 2019 wouldn’t be a surety.

Pirelli expects the commercial terms to be similar to the one’s that they are presently working on and don’t want to get into a bidding war.

In fact if they are forced into a bidding war, according to executive vice chairman and chief executive officer Marco Tronchetti Provera, Pirelli will bow out.

“As we have always said, Formula 1 is a good match for us and we are happy and honoured to stay there,” a Pirelli source said as quoted by Motorsport.com.

“But if it comes down to a bidding war, we would not stay at any cost.” he added.

Pirelli is also the sole tyre supplier of World Superbike Championship and supplies tyres for at least 460 car and bike events each year. Thus, it seems like Pirelli will not be necessarily affected if the F1 deal doesn’t go through.

Pirelli has done a great job by preparing tyres that don’t last too long, so as to bring about greater excitement in the sport of F1. They have been the sole tyre suppliers ever since 2010, when Bridgestone made way from them.

It will be interesting to see how the sport changes, if Pirelli opt out.