The GP2 and GP3 keep Pirelli
If it is not yet official in F1, Pirelli is now certain to continue in GP2 and GP3 as a multi-year contract has just been signed.
When we met Paul Hembery, the competition director for Pirelli, in Monza, he clearly informed us that, for him and his company, the official confirmation of its extension by the FIA in F1 was just a matter of time and that everything is ready for the 2014 season.
The same goes for GP2 and GP3. The continuity of this partnership was hardly in doubt since the ties between the two organizations have been linked for many seasons. The Italian manufacturer has been the sole supplier for GP3 since its inception in 2010 and has been present in GP2 since 2011 to provide tires similar to those used in F1.
Another important reason for keeping Pirelli in its role is that GP2 will enter a new generation of cars next season. However, to address the economic difficulties of some of its teams, the organizers have decided to retain their 2011 chassis provided by Dallara. Since this single-seater was designed around Pirelli tires, maintaining it avoids having to manage significant technical adjustments to adapt to the characteristics of a different manufacturer.
Bruno Michel, the director of the two championships, states: « I am delighted to have extended our agreement with Pirelli for the coming seasons. Our relationship, which began when we launched GP3 in 2010, has always been strong and healthy. It was then a natural choice to take them on for GP2 since they were also the sole supplier in F1, and it has always been our philosophy to use the same supplier as in F1. Over the past three seasons, this partnership has produced some of the best races in our history. It’s great to work with Pirelli: they are very responsive and understand what needs to be provided to make these categories extremely competitive. »
Moreover, Pirelli has heavily invested in these young driver promotion series. It offers 200,000 euros to the GP3 champion if they decide to take another step forward the following season by joining the GP2. Mitch Evans was the first to benefit from this, following his title win in 2012. For the GP2 champion, the reward is a day of testing behind the wheel of an F1 car.
With the participation of www.Racingbusiness.fr
