Pirelli Motorsport Dir Paul Hembery said that China National Chemical Corp.'s "takeover of Pirelli will not affect" the Italian tire maker's involvement in F1, according to John O'Brien of REUTERS. Hembery said, "It is very much business as normal. Motorsport for Pirelli remains a key aspect of our positioning in the premium prestige market segments. We are involved in over 250 championships this year in 54 countries and F1 is the pinnacle of all of that activity." ChemChina "agreed last Sunday to become the majority owner of the world's fifth-largest tire maker" as part of a multi-layered €7.3B ($8B) deal. Pirelli is F1's sole tire supplier and has a contract to the end of '16, with the "tender process" for '17 "due to open this year." Hembery added Pirelli "wanted to continue but the company needed to know more about where the sport was heading, with talk of switching to bigger tires, more powerful engines and bodywork revisions." Hembery: "We need to understand what the sport is going to look like in 2017 because at the moment discussions are ongoing, so if you sign up to such an important contract you have to have an idea of what you are going into. It's a business decision and we are not here for fun" (REUTERS, 3/26).
