Pirelli ready for long-term F1 future

On the back of an exciting start to the season, Pirelli's chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera says he is satisfied with the job his Italian company has done so far, and he sees every reason for his company to remain in F1 if it continues to make financial sense.

"We have a three-year contract, and we want to learn together with the teams how to do anything that helps to have more attractive and fascinating races," he said during a visit to the Turkish Grand Prix. "We have achieved our targets until now and we want to continue.

"F1 is a long term project if it is affordable. If it is a formula that is not too costly, then we are ready to continue."

Provera says that what Pirelli has done this year - in producing tyres to ensure multiple pitstops in the race - was something that was harder to achieve that designing tyres that could last a full race distance.

"We were asked to help create more emotions and we did it, with safe tyres lasting enough but not too much - which is really very, very difficult," he said.

"I think we helped having more attractiveness, uncertainties and more show. That was the target they gave us, so we had to build tyres lasting no more than 23-25 laps in order to guarantee two pitstops.

"We reached a target that is much more difficult than building tyres that last for the entire grand prix. The tyres perform well, we pit twice for the highest speed in different circuits so our tyres are performing, the structure is okay and the formula is such that they last as the circus wants."

With F1 teams paying 1.25 million Euros each for tyres, Provera said that his company's involvement was good value - as its only real cost was in advertising its involvement.

And he said that as long as costs did not get out of control, Pirelli would be willing to go up against tyre competition in the future.

"We are open to it," he said. "But it always depends on costs. We left because of the costs, we came back because it was affordable and we will stay if the teams are providing us with an opportunity to stay.

"I think that the experience we are making makes us more comfortable in staying in, but then it depends on costs."

Provera also said that his company had no concerns about the future battle for control of F1 - with media group News Corporation investigating a future takeover of control of the sport from Bernie Ecclestone and CVC Capital Partners.

"We are not involved in this," he explained. "We are first the supplier of the tyres, not the supplier of promotions, so anybody who is running F1 will be welcome.

"Of course our relation with Ecclestone is very good. We appreciate what he is doing - he has created this circus, and we have delivered what he has been asking us, so we are happy with him."