MAY 14, 2013

Pirelli boss says new F1 contract coming soon

Pirelli is now well on the road to securing a new contract to continue as F1's official tyre supplier beyond 2013.

That is the claim of the Italian company's chairman and chief executive Marco Tronchetti Provera.

In Bahrain, Pirelli's F1 chief Paul Hembery had hinted that, with Pirelli's existing contract expiring, a deadline was now fast approaching.

"There is a time scale and I'm pretty sure I know what it is," he said.

On Sunday in Barcelona, the Briton said negotiations had continued in the days and weeks since Bahrain, and some progress had been made.

"We are moving in the right direction," confirmed Tronchetti Provera, according to reports in the Italian media.

"We believe the conditions for the signing of a new contract with formula one have already been established.

"It will not take much more and I hope it will happen soon," he added. "There will be news in the coming months."

He added that Pirelli enjoys its collaboration because working in F1 "produces important results for the research of the products and materials for road cars".

(GMM)