Pirelli motorsport chief Mario Isola has said the company would be willing to compete in a Formula 1 tyre war but has warned it could detrimentally impact the sport.
The Italian supplier took over from Bridgestone in 2011 and has had a rocky seven years as they struggle to find the balance between maintaining a level of degradation that allows for variable strategies in races while also allowing drivers to push.
Even so, the company is likely to stay on beyond their current deal which expires at the end of next season and is set to part of an overhaul in tyre philosophy in 2021 with 18-inch rims and the banning of tyre blankets.
If F1 considered returning to the multi-supplier era of the mid-2000’s when Michelin and Bridgestone battled it out, however, the Pirelli chief insists his team would be ready.
“If they decide to come back to this situation as we said in the past, we are ready to face also this new challenge,” Isola was quoted by F1i.com.
In explaining what the impact would be though, he admitted it may not be to the advantage of the F1 show.
“It is a new challenge because if you’re a sole supplier you have some targets, you supply the same tyres to everybody so you can have a tyre with high degradation, with different targets,” he said.
“If we are in competition with our tyre supplier the target is just performance. It is clear. It’s like for teams.
“Their target is safety for sure but safety is a target, it’s always there, it’s always a priority but after that, it’s just performance.”
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Given that would likely also see a development war, as the suppliers would continue to work on their compounds in-season just as the teams do, Isola also warned that would result in higher costs.
“The direction of F1 is still to have one supplier,” Isola declared. “[But] if you introduce, again, what they call the ”tyre war” or multiple suppliers you have to consider that in the past it was necessary to have additional test sessions or in the past the teams had a proper tyre test team and obviously this means additional costs.
“If they want to reduce the cost, this is probably not the right direction.”
