Paul Hembrey, motorsport director of Pirelli, has admitted that the budget for their Formula 1 efforts mirrors that of a fully fledged team.
Pirelli will soon find out whether they have beaten Michelin and secured another contract as the sport’s sole tyre supplier from 2017 onwards.
The Italian company has revealed that part of the consideration of reapplying for their current position was the escalating costs of developing new rubber partnered with sponsorship deals.
Hembery, whose company’s F1 budget is rumoured to be around £70 million ($110m) – more than Manor spend and almost equal to Sauber – stated that the public does not fully appreciate the Italian’s expenditure within the sport.
“You have to bear in mind we are a sponsor as well as a technical supplier, and our overall costs are far greater than a normal sponsor,” Hembrey said.
“It would be far better for us to just go and do some trackside advertising and sip a bottle of champagne every weekend. That would cost probably a third of what it costs now.
“That’s the problem, people don’t understand our net costs of being present.
“We don’t get anything from the commercial rights holder, so our net cost is greater than [everyone] except the engine manufacturers.
“You could certainly run an F1 team on our budget.”
Despite the costs, Hembrey believes that Pirelli’s involvement within the sport has been justified with their global exposure, however warned that the tyre manufacturer will not participate at any price.
“So far it has, but there has also to be a recognition of your role,” Hembrey added when questioned over whether Pirelli’s investment has been worthwhile.
“If you come along and you feel you are not getting the right recognition for what you are putting into the sport then you start questioning it. Other people have come and gone in the past because of those reasons.
“I have always said we wouldn’t be in the sport at any cost, that it has to work as a business proposition.
“The sport is still strong historically in South America, Brazil in particular, and in Europe, but we need it to be stronger in Asia and we need it to grow in North America. We need bigger audiences in those markets.
“We compare F1 with other sponsorship activities, what our competitors do, what the automotive businesses do, and other people not even directly in our business where they go and spend money.
“It’s not a given that at any costs we want to be here. We’ll be here if it makes sense for the business, and the sport wants us to be here.
“If they don’t want to recognise our role and involvement then we will do something else.”
