Tyre strategy played a key role in the Spanish Grand Prix, which was won by Williams driver Pastor Maldonado: the first win for the British team since the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix. The Venezuelan became the fifth different winner in five races this year, with five different cars.

Maldonado qualified on pole, but was passed by Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso, who made his first pit stop on lap 11. The biggest winner from the first stint was McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, who went from last to fourth before switching to the hard tyres on lap 14.

With cooler conditions of 23 degrees centigrade ambient and 32 degrees track temperature, the working range of the P Zero Silver hard tyre came into its own, making it the favoured option for most teams to race on. The other nominated tyre, the P Zero Yellow soft, offered a significant performance advantage, and was used mainly for qualifying and the beginning of the race, with every driver starting on the soft tyre.

The key to Maldonado’s victory was when he made his second stop two laps sooner than Alonso for the hard tyre, which enabled him to put in some quick laps and get past the Ferrari which pitted for the second time on lap 26. From then on, he was able to control his advantage with a three-stop strategy, which was also adopted by Alonso. After his final stop, Maldonado ran the P Zero Silver tyre for 25 laps to take victory by 3.1 seconds as he and Alonso raced to the finish on the hard tyre. Both drivers started on the soft tyre, and then used three sets of the hard tyre.

Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen, who finished third, also made good use of the hard tyre during his final 18-lap stint to close up on the leaders over the last 10 laps, having made three stops. By the end of the race, he was less than a second behind Alonso. Raikkonen used a different strategy to the two drivers in front of him, using the soft tyre twice at the beginning of the race and then completing two stints on the hard tyre.

By contrast, Hamilton was the only person to use a two-stop strategy to finish eighth – a result that was decided on the final lap – from 24^th and last on the grid, after his original pole position time was cancelled for a rules infringement.

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel finished sixth after four pit stops, including one drive-through penalty, and retains the championship lead jointly with Alonso. This is the closest start to a season since 1983 – which was also the last time a Venezuelan scored world championship points, thanks to Johnny Cecotto. Maldonado now becomes Venezuela’s first grand prix winner.

Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery commented: “With Pastor Maldonado starting from the front and Lewis Hamilton starting from the back, this was always going to be a fascinating race, and thanks to the tyre strategy as well, it certainly delivered. Maldonado and Williams were quick right from free practice on Friday, having consistently got the most out of both tyre compounds all weekend. The final 10 laps were a fantastic duel between him and Alonso, with less than a second separating them, on similar strategies. Both drivers showed their tyre management skills perfectly, managing to avoid falling off ‘the cliff’ despite pushing hard for the race win. The tyres contributed to an extremely entertaining and tense race, but as official supplier we will always follow the wishes of the teams and the promoter and our future development direction will be dictated by what they want. For the sport, we believe that it’s fantastic to have five races, five winners and five cars – especially when it is as well deserved as the victory that we saw from Pastor and Williams today.”

PIT STOP SUMMARY – 2012 SPANISH GRAND PRIX

The first column denotes the tyres the driver started the race on.
S = Soft compound
H = Hard compound
N = New compound
U = Used compound
NC = Not classified
DT = Drive Through
The last column gives the total amount of pit stops.

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For further information please contact
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Anthony Peacock +44 7765 896 930 anthony@mediatica.co.uk
**
Francescopaolo Tarallo +39 334 684 4307 francescopaolo.tarallo@pirelli.com
(Head of Product and Motorsport Communication)

Barcelona, May 12, 2012 – McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton claimed his third pole position this year by going fastest in Spain using the P Zero Yellow soft tyre: nominated along with the P Zero Silver hard tyre this weekend. Hamilton took his first pole in Spain and the 150th for McLaren with a time of 1m21.707s, after a session that was characterised by several different team strategies.

Pastor Maldonado claimed second on the same tyre: the Venezuelan’s best-ever qualifying result and the highest grid placing for Williams since the 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Qualifying started with a track temperature of 40 degrees centigrade, which was slightly higher than qualifying in Bahrain two weeks ago. This only added to the energy put through the tyres by corners such as turn three: the longest and fastest corner of the whole Circuit de Catalunya.

With most of the teams looking at three stops tomorrow, and three sets each of the harder and softer compounds available as usual for qualifying and the race, tyre management was an important consideration from the very beginning of qualifying.

Maldonado was the first driver to switch to the soft tyre halfway through qualifying one, topping the time sheets to underline the pace he had shown since the beginning of the weekend. Both Red Bull drivers completed one run on the soft tyre towards the end of the first session.

All the drivers used the soft tyre during Q2. Most drivers went out on used softs to keep a fresh set for the final top-10 shoot-out, but while Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi qualified in the top 10 he was unable to take part in qualifying three due to a mechanical problem: meaning that it was a fight for the top nine.

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel was the first driver on track in Q3, completing a lap on soft tyres but not setting a time, while Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher went out on hard tyres and also did not set a time. The aborted laps from Vettel and Schumacher means that they will be able to start the race on whichever compound they like, as will Kobayashi.

Vettel was fastest during the final free practice session this morning, setting a time of 1m23.168s using the P Zero Yellow soft tyres, with the Sauber drivers also topping the time sheets for much of the session.

Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery commented: “Strategy was at the forefront of qualifying today, with a gap of around 0.8 seconds between the hard and the soft tyres, depending on the team. Historically, Barcelona is a race that has nearly always been won from the front row of the grid, but now drivers that have qualified lower down the grid still have a possibility to challenge for victory. There were some surprising eliminations in Q2; however these drivers will feel the benefit of having more fresh tyres, so it will be interesting to see what they can do with them. As Barcelona is so demanding on every aspect of the dynamics of a car, including tyre management, it is normally a very good indicator of the likely form for the rest of the year. With the teams so closely matched this season, and the upgrades introduced at Mugello beginning to take effect, it’s going to be very hard to predict a winner for tomorrow. Particular congratulations to Pastor Maldonado and Williams – who have consistently got the most out of the tyres throughout the weekend so far.”

Tyres used by the top ten qualifiers:

Hamilton: Soft
Maldonado: Soft
Alonso:  Soft
Grosjean: Soft
Raikkonen: Soft
Perez:  Soft
Rosberg: Soft
Vettel:  no time set
Schumacher: no time set
Kobayashi: no time set

On its return to Europe, the P Zero Yellow soft tyre (which has been nominated together with the P Zero Silver hard tyre for the first time this season) set the fastest time in the second free practice session in Barcelona: the home of the Spanish Grand Prix.

Jenson Button set the fastest time during the second session this afternoon, with a time of 1m23.399 on the soft tyre. As expected, temperatures remained dry and warm for both the hour and a half sessions, allowing the drivers to experience the sort of conditions that they are likely to encounter during qualifying on Saturday. For the race, a risk of rain showers has been initially forecast.

With Barcelona being one of the circuits that places heavy demands on the tyres, the teams used the two free practice sessions to assess wear and degradation rates on different fuel loads, and also to establish a base set-up that will suit their likely strategies. With many teams having introduced upgrades at the recent Mugello test, free practice in Barcelona was also another opportunity to see how these worked in conjunction with the 2012-specification Pirelli tyres.

For the first time, there is an entire step in between the two compounds that have been nominated by Pirelli for the race. With a lap time difference of just over a second between the two compounds, strategy will be even more important during the race, putting an emphasis on the data collected by the teams during free practice today.

In the morning session, the teams concentrated exclusively on the P Zero Silver hard before moving onto the P Zero Yellow soft tyre in the afternoon with some further use of the hard compound. The fastest time in free practice one was set by Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso with a benchmark of 1m24.754s.

Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery said: “It was a very important session today for all the teams, as they aimed to gather as much information as possible in order to prepare their race strategies, which are going to have a big influence on the final outcome of the race. Barcelona is well known for a notable degree of tyre wear thanks to long and fast corners such as turn three, and although we still have plenty of data to analyse, it seems that the frontrunners will be likely to adopt a three-stop strategy. However, with a wider gap between the two nominated tyres than usual – both in terms of compound and performance – we could see some quite different strategies that are capable of springing a surprise. And of course if the rain showers that some people are predicting for Sunday materialise, then the race will take on an entirely new and unexpected complexion. With many of the teams introducing new developments in Spain, it almost feels like we are starting the season from scratch again.”

Tomorrow (Saturday) Paul Hembery will be taking part in a live online chat from the Spanish Grand Prix at 6.00pm local time (+1 hour CET), together with Pirelli test driver Jaime Alguersuari, who has been recently testing Pirelli’s latest development tyres at Jerez in the south of Spain. To join in and stream on your own website please visit: http://streamingf1.pirelli.com/share/
To watch, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/Pirelli/app_234658916574732

PIRELLI NUMBERS OF THE DAY:

Sets used overall:

Hard  53
Soft  25
Intermediates 0
Wet  0

Highest number of laps per compound:

Hard  17
Soft  18
Intermediate 0
Wet  0

PIRELLI FACT OF THE DAY:

Last year, a four-stop strategy proved the key to success for Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel: the only race other than Turkey (which also contains high-speed, high-energy corners) where this was the case. Pirelli nominated the hard and soft tyres last year in Barcelona as well, but this year’s compounds are softer across the board: the 2012 hard compound is similar in character to last year’s medium. However, the teams have plenty of experience of running the 2012 Pirelli tyres in Barcelona through pre-season testing. The final test held in March was dominated by Lotus, which went quickest on three out of the four days, using the P Zero Yellow soft tyre.

• 2011 RESULTS APPROVED

• DISTRIBUTION OF 0.27 EURO DIVIDEND PER ORDINARY SHARE AND 0.34 EURO PER SAVINGS SHARE DECIDED

• BOARD MEMBERS MANUELA SOFFIENTINI AND GIUSEPPE VITA NOMINATED

• NEW AUDIT COMMITTEE NAMED

• REMUNERATION POLICY APPROVED

• MANAGEMENT LTI INCENTIVE PLAN APPROVED

• ‘PIRELLI SHAREHOLDERS CLUB’ LAUNCHED FOR INDIVIDUAL INVESTORS

The shareholders of Pirelli & C. SpA met today in ordinary session and approved full-year results for 2011 which ended with a consolidated net profit of 440.7 million euro and parent company net profit of 272.5 million euro. They decided the on the distribution of a dividend of 0.27 euro per ordinary share and 0.34 euro per savings share with payment on 24 May 2012 (ex-dividend 21 May 2012).

Shareholders nominated board members Manuela Soffientini (independent) and Giuseppe Vita, both already coopted.

Shareholders also nominated, via list vote, the new Audit Committee for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014. The committee is thus composed of Francesco Fallacara (who shareholders named as chairman), Antonella Carù and Enrico Laghi, as standing auditors, and Umile Sebastiano Iacovino and Andrea Lorenzatti as alternate auditors. The chairman of the new audit committee and the alternate auditor Andrea Lorenzatti were chosen from the minority list (voted for by about 22% of the capital represented at the shareholders meeting) presented by a group of fund managers and financial intermediaries, while the other nominations were chosen from the majority list (voted for by circa 78% of the capital represented at the shareholders meeting) presented by Camfin, Mediobanca, Edizione, Fondiaria-Sai, Allianz, Assicurazioni Generali, Intesa Sanpaolo, Sinpar and Massimo Moratti, members of the Pirelli & C. SpA shareholder agreement. The compensation for the standing auditors was established at 50,000 euro and for the Committee chairman at 75,000 euro.

The curricula of the new auditors are available at the company’s website (www.pirelli.com).

Shareholders also expressed themselves in favour of the Company and Group remuneration policy, as well as approving the 3-year LTI incentive plan (Long Term Incentive), decided by the Board of Directors in March following its proposal by the Remunerations Committee and destined for management. The new plan is linked to the achievement of the targets of the 2012-2014 group industrial plan, to TSR (Total Shareholders Return) and Pirelli’s position in the key sustainability rankings at the world level.

It should be noted that documentation relative to the 2011 annual results and the information document prepared for the LTI plan are available to the public at the company’s headquarters in Milan (Viale Piero e Alberto Pirelli 25) and at Borsa Italiana S.p.A., as well as being online at the company’s website www.pirelli.com.

The minutes of the shareholders’ meeting will be available to the public via the same channels by 8 June 2012.

’Pirelli Shareholders Club’ for individual investor launched

During today’s shareholders’ meeting, Pirelli also presented the “Pirelli Shareholders Club”, an initiative that is one of a number for individual investors. Through this new project Pirelli, the sixth biggest group in terms of the weight of individual investors with 16% of capital held by 70,000 shareholders, intends to bring investors closer to its world and products. By enrolling in the Club, in fact, shareholders will receive not only all the information needed to know the company, but also gain access to exclusive prizes linked to Pirelli’s world, like sporting, cultural and lifestyle events.

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PIRELLI & C. SPA

• REVENUES 1,556.5 MILLION EURO, +11.1% COMPARED WITH 1,400.9 MILLION EURO ON 31 MARCH 2011

• OPERATING RESULT (EBIT) AFTER RESTRUCTURING CHARGES 209.4 MILLIONI  EURO (+46.1% COMPARED WITH 143.3 MILLION EURO ON 31 MARCH 2011)

• EBIT MARGIN ON 31 MARCH 2012 AT 13.5% COMPARED WITH 10.2% FOR THE SAME PERIOD IN 2011

• CONSOLIDATED NET PROFIT 125.3 MILLION EURO, AN INCREASE OF 54% COMPARED WITH 81.4 MILLION EURO AT END MARCH 2011

• ATTRIBUTABLE CONSOLIDATED NET PROFIT 122.9 MILLION EURO, AN INCREASE OF 48.4% COMPARED WITH THE PRIOR 82.8 MILLION EURO

• NET FINANCIAL POSITION NEGATIVE 1,305 MILLION EURO, AN INCREASE FROM NEGATIVE 737.1 MILLION EURO AT END DECEMBER 2011

TYRE BUSINESS

• REVENUES 1,542.6 MILLION EURO, +11.4% COMPARED  WITH 1,384.5 MILLION EURO ON 31 MARCH 2011

• PREMIUM REVENUES 584.4 MILLION EURO, +29.2% FROM 31 MARCH 2011

• OPERATING RESULT (EBIT) AFTER RESTRUCTURING CHARGES 215.2 MILLION EURO, +41.2% COMPARED WITH 152.4 MILLION EURO ON 31 MARCH 2011

• EBIT MARGIN ON 31 MARCH 2012 GREW TO RECORD LEVEL OF 14% COMPARED WITH 11% IN THE SAME PERIOD OF 2011

2012 TARGETS

•        REVENUE TARGET REVISED TO APPROXIMATELY 6.45 BILLION EURO, AN INCREASE OF 14% COMPARED WITH 2011 (PREVIOUS TARGET: ~6.6 BILLION EURO, UP 17%)

•        EBIT FORECAST: AT LEAST 800 MILLION EURO, MARGIN ABOVE 12% (PREVIOUS ESTIMATE: MARGIN ABOVE OR EQUAL TO 12%)

•        INVESTMENT TARGET LOWERED TO APPROXIMATELY 500 MILLION EURO (PREVIOUS ESTIMATE: APPROXIMATELY 560 MILLION EURO)

•        NET FINANCIAL POSITION TARGET CONFIRMED NEGATIVE AT BELOW 1 BILLION EURO BEFORE DIVIDENDS

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ORGANIZATIONAL MODEL RE-DEFINED. INTRODUCES ROLES OF CTO (CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER) AND CCO (CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER) REPORTING TO THE CHAIRMAN AND CEO

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The Board of Directors of Pirelli & C. SpA today reviewed and approved intermediate results for the 3 months ended 31 March 2012.

The continual strengthening of production in rapidly growing economies and the focus on the Premium segment, which as well as being the most profitable segment is also the tyre market’s fastest growing, enabled Pirelli to end the first quarter of 2012 with further improvements in key economic indicators and profitability, notwithstanding the persistent macro-economic slowdown, particularly in Western economies.

Consolidated revenues on 31 March 2012 totaled 1,556.5 million euro, an increase of 11.1% compared with 1,400.9 million euro in first quarter 2011. The consolidated operating result after restructuring charges was 209.4 million euro, with an increase of 46.1% compared with 143.3 million euro in first quarter 2011 and saw the margin on revenues rise by over three percentage points to 13.5% compared with 10.2% in the same period of 2011. The net result was 125.3 million euro, an increase of 54% from 81.4 million euro in first quarter 2011.

The consolidated net financial position was negative 1,305.0 million euro compared with 737.1 million at end 2011 (negative 712.8 million euro on 31 March 2011), reflecting a normal seasonal variation in the business working capital, as well as payment, of 154.5 million euro, for the acquisition of the Russian plants in Kirov and Voronezh.

For the Tyre activities, which represent almost all (99%) group sales, the quarter registered a further increase in sales (+11.4% to 1,542.6 million euro) and a further increase in profitability which reached the record level of 14% compared with 11% in the same period of 2011. In a market context discounting the global economic slowdown, these results were achieved thanks to the continual improvement of the sales mix – increasingly focused on Premium products – and the ability to use the price lever to offset increases in the cost of raw materials, which in the quarter had an impact of approximately 85 million euro, as well as constant improvement in efficiencies, which totaled 26 million euro in the period.

With regard to the Premium segment, in particular, in the first quarter of 2012 revenues grew 29.2% compared with the same period a year earlier in 2011 to 584.4 million euro, and in the Car business represented 52.6% of the total, with an increase of over five percentage points compared with 47.4% in the same period of 2011.

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