The purists – who deride the current generation of cars with their KERS boost
buttons, fast-degrading tyres and driver-operated wing flaps, as gimmicky –
would agree with him.
Hembery makes the case for the defence. “Michael is a great champion,” he said
in yesterday’s FIA press conference. “But while we respect his opinion we
won’t change things until everyone is saying that.”
An engaging character, Hembery admits it has not been the smoothest of rides
for Pirelli since they entered the sport last season, with the big cheeses
in Milan close to panicking at one point.
“Obviously at the outset it was a huge change,” he says, “a bit of a culture
shock. But we are only doing what we were asked to do.
“I’m quite sure our bosses were worried. They asked me: ‘Are you sure? We’re
investing a lot of time, effort and money in this.’
“You’ve got to remember, when Ferrari don’t win they come under a lot of
pressure in Italy. The media there tend to build them up and knock them
down. These are things that can have an impact on your share price.
“And we had to say ‘yes, it’s good everyone is talking about us’. To be fair
they backed us.”
Hembery cites improved sales and brand awareness as proof that Pirelli’s
decision to stick with the programme has paid off.
“Whenever we speak to our dealers they tell us they have people coming in and
saying ‘Oh, Pirelli, they do Formula One’. Our sales are up.
Our market share is up. You can’t claim that is all down to Formula One but I
think it has helped enormously.
“I think particularly with the younger audience; perhaps they now see Pirelli
as a company willing to have a bit of fun, not cold and corporate. We don’t
hide away. We are part of the narrative now.” Whether for better or for
worse is open to debate.
McLaren’s Jenson
Button set the pace in practice on Friday but you would be taking a
punt backing him tomorrow given what happened to McLaren in Bahrain last
month (hint: they failed to get into the right operating window).
Hembery is unrepentant. “As long as it’s the same for everyone,” he says.
“The best driver-car combination should still prevail. People need to remember
we are in the entertainment business. If you go to the football and see 0-0
draws, eventually you will stop going.
If you go and see 5-5 draws; same result but people will keep coming back for
more.”