Breaking news

Formula 1

Pirelli not taking all the blame - Hembery

Pirelli pointed the finger at those running extreme tyre pressures, wheel cambers and swapping rear tyres left to right.

GMM

Edited: Jul 5, 2013, 1:43 PM

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Felipe Massa Ferrari F138 with a rear Pirelli tyre puncture

Jul.5 (GMM) Paul Hembery on Friday insisted Pirelli can not take all the blame for the tyre-exploding chaos of last weekend's British Grand Prix.

Some teams had hit back at their Italian supplier, after Pirelli pointed the finger at those running extreme tyre pressures, wheel cambers and swapping rear tyres left to right.

"Just to be clear," McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh told Britain's Sky on Friday, "we always ran within the correct pressures and the correct cambers and everything we did was agreed with Pirelli."

It's on Whitmarsh's last point that Pirelli boss Hembery does take some blame -- the tyre-swapping, which teams reportedly discovered could add 20 per cent to the tyres' lifespan.

"That's our fault," Hembery is quoted by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

"Early in the season we had a request from McLaren and saw no reason why we shouldn't allow it. We thought it was harmless."

But according to Pirelli, the practice ultimately caused most of the harm at Silverstone, with the internal steel belt no longer properly spreading the load in the fast corners.

As for the camber and pressures, Hembery added: "We could not verify the data, because the teams were not always open with us.

"But with the camber, you can tell just by looking that some were going over the top."

And he said he is "sure" some teams ignored Pirelli's recommendations about pressures.

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Read also :

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Previous article Drivers to 'think' before F1 boycott - de la Rosa

Next article Raikkonen unfazed by Lauda's 'wimp' jibe

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

More from

GMM



The season is still very long - Rosberg

Formula 1

Formula 1

The season is still very long - Rosberg



Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes

Formula 1

Formula 1

Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes



Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position

Formula 1

Formula 1

Chinese GP

Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position

More from

Martin Whitmarsh



F1's power vacuum: are lunatics running the asylum?

Formula 1

Formula 1

F1's power vacuum: are lunatics running the asylum?



Malaysian GP: Friday press conference

Formula 1

Formula 1

Malaysian GP

Malaysian GP: Friday press conference



Whitmarsh joins America's Cup team Ainslie

Formula 1

Formula 1

Whitmarsh joins America's Cup team Ainslie

More from

McLaren



"Two steps forward, one step back" – Oscar Piastri explains the route out of McLaren's car woes

Formula 1

Formula 1

Mexican GP

"Two steps forward, one step back" – Oscar Piastri explains the route out of McLaren's car woes



Why McLaren gave team order to Oscar Piastri in F1 US GP

Formula 1

Formula 1

United States GP

Why McLaren gave team order to Oscar Piastri in F1 US GP



Why Oscar Piastri has struggled to show his best with this year's McLaren MCL40

Formula 1

Why Oscar Piastri has struggled to show his best with this year's McLaren MCL40

Latest news



Ducati copies swingarm fins and Aprilia responds with upgraded version

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Malaysian GP

32 min

Ducati copies swingarm fins and Aprilia responds with upgraded version



Jorge Martin concedes 2026 MotoGP title is “already lost” after Malaysian GP withdrawal

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Malaysian GP

1 h

Jorge Martin concedes 2026 MotoGP title is “already lost” after Malaysian GP withdrawal



Layne Riggs had no problem with teammate going for the win despite title fight

NASCAR Truck

NSTR NASCAR Truck

Martinsville

1 h

Layne Riggs had no problem with teammate going for the win despite title fight



MotoGP Malaysian GP: Alex Marquez claims pole from Marc Marquez; Jorge Martin out

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Malaysian GP

2 h

MotoGP Malaysian GP: Alex Marquez claims pole from Marc Marquez; Jorge Martin out

Feature

Discover prime content



What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 Mexico GP

Formula 1

Mexican GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 Mexico GP



What’s the state of play at F1’s smallest team?

Formula 1

By Jake Boxall-Legge

What’s the state of play at F1’s smallest team?



Is history really repeating itself? What Christian Horner’s Adrian Newey claim says about Aston Martin and Red Bull

Formula 1

By Ronald Vording

Is history really repeating itself? What Christian Horner’s Adrian Newey claim says about Aston Martin and Red Bull



The one aspect of the 2026 US GP that should be a blueprint for F1 2027

Formula 1

United States GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

The one aspect of the 2026 US GP that should be a blueprint for F1 2027

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts

Subscribe