Pirelli seeks input from Formula 1 teams on ideas for 2012 tyres

Although Pirelli is delighted with the way this season has panned out, the Italian company is open to being more creative with the tyre regulations next year if the teams are up for it.

Pirelli director of motorsport Paul Hembery has revealed that one answer he is desperate for is how the teams think his company can continue tyre testing next year - with its current updated TF109 test car getting to the end of its useful life.

"It is a problem with the testing, it is a genuine problem," Hembery told AUTOSPORT. "Going forward it remains a problem that we cannot get access to current cars, and nobody wants to seem to give us an answer or a solution.

"As much as Toyota has done a good job you can only go forward so far, before we have no access to testing. We want to be a good partner for the sport and we want to try and deliver the best product, but until we can test and verify our own results it is becoming a little bit more difficult."

Hembery says that although the Toyota car has been invaluable for its 2011 preparations, the design is now getting dated with the regulations changing so much.

"The car doesn't have the right sized fuel tank, and it doesn't have the DRS. The 2013 regulations are probably going to be less downforce and higher top speed, so we need to sit down and find a solution.

"It is easy for the teams to say no, no, no. But we genuinely need a solution and one that doesn't lead to accusations that we are favouring one team over another. We are not interested in that.

"We just want to do our job to the best of our ability and we don't want to favour anyone between ourselves and the teams. We want to find a professional solution and we have to say, with the collaboration we have had so far, we will find a solution.

"Maybe we do test sessions where we change the car every time. Or all the cars have McLaren Electronics so we could block the channel for the team so no data could be read from the test, or we could make it available to everyone. There are a number of ways to do it."

Hembery said that as well as the testing issue, he wanted to discuss with teams wider changes - including revisions to the Q3 tyre rules and the possibility of qualifying tyres.

"We will probably catch up at a race event just after the summer - probably September time," explained Hembery.

"We will sit down with them and say: 'Look this is what we have learned this year, this is what we think we can do better for you, and do you want us to do it?'

"The teams need to tell us what they want of course because at the end of the day it is the teams that decide where we go.

"At the end of the day we are a partner of the teams and the teams also need to give their point of view. We can have all the ideas in the world but at the end of the day if they don't want to do it, they don't want to do it."