28/03/2015
NEWS STORY
Paul Hembery says takeover of Pirelli by ChemChina will not affect F1 involvement.
Last week's takeover, thought to be worth $8bn saw ChemChina, which is involved in agrochemicals, rubber products, chemical materials and speciality chemicals, industrial equipment, and petrochemical processing, take control of the world's fifth largest tyre manufacturer. However, speaking in Sepang, Pirelli's motorsport boss was keen to play down fears that the deal could impact the company's involvement in F1.
"It is very much business as normal," the Briton told reporters. "Motorsport for Pirelli remains a key aspect of our positioning in the premium prestige market segments. We are involved in over 250 championships this year in 54 countries and F1 is the pinnacle of all of that activity.
"Our view is that nothing changes and we see Formula One as a medium to long-term involvement and we will be very happy to continue in the sport."
The company's current contract runs to the end of 2016, with the tender process for 2017 and beyond due to open later this year. However, Hembery warned that whilst Pirelli wishes to continue it wants to see the direction in which the sport is heading.
"We need to understand what the sport is going to look like in 2017 because at the moment discussions are ongoing, so if you sign up to such an important contract you have to have an idea of what you are going into," he said.
"It's a business decision and we are not here for fun. We would like to continue, everything can be improved but Formula One still has a unique platform in motorsport, sometimes people underestimate how big it actually is."