JOIN USUnder pressure Formula One supplier Pirelli has been surprised by the threat of a German Grand Prix boycott by drivers but expects no problems with its new tyres and is planning to stay in the sport.
The Grand Prix Drivers' Association announced on Thursday they will withdraw from this weekend's German Grand Prix if the five tyre blow-outs which marred Sunday's British race occur again and endanger their lives.
After the intervention of the governing FIA, Pirelli has brought upgraded rear tyres to the Nuerburgring with an inner belt made of the synthetic fibre Kevlar rather than steel.
"It was a little bit surprising having just had a meeting with them going through it," Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery told reporters about the boycott threat.
"At the end of the day we have to make sure we don't have any issues like we had at Silverstone. That's the bottom line,’’ he added.
Pirelli hit the headlines in May for a "secret" test with Mercedes, which led to the German team being barred from a young driver test - now open to race drivers as well - at Silverstone this month.
The firm then risked causing further anger after Silverstone by partly blaming the teams for the blowouts because of the way they were managing the tyres, specifically deliberately inverting the rear ones for performance reasons.
With tensions running high, Hembery was at pains to point out that the Italian company was also at fault. "I have to say last weekend was our responsibility. We allowed the teams to invert the tyres when we shouldn't have done," he said.
"With the cars going much quicker this year that creates different loads. With the inverted tyres you create a weakness point, and that was the issue. There were secondary issues, which have been mentioned, but I don't want to take away from the fact it was our responsibility,’’ Hembery added.