Pirelli: We're 'not where we need to be' with 2015 compounds

Paul Hembery has admitted that Pirelli are "not where we need to be" with their 2015 compounds and are aiming to engineer three-stop races next year.

Many grands prix this season have been one-stoppers for the majority of the field, with Pirelli’s compounds proving more durable than in previous seasons.

With the firm seemingly moving away from having a step between the compounds, their motorsport director has acknowledged they aren’t meeting their mandate.

"We are not where we need to be this year and it is true that the requirement is for two or three [pit-stops per race]," he told Sky Sports.

"So we are not quite hitting the mark, but then we have no testing ability. We have zero testing ability so it is okay to sometimes ask us to do things, but we also need the ability to do our job.

"We are looking to make changes next year to get back to two or three stops, but we also need to have an agreement in place to allow us to do the testing to give us better information so we can ensure that happens."

Ahead of the British GP, Lotus’ Romain Grosjean said he wanted to see Pirelli return to the high-degradation tyres of 2012 when pushing the rubber too hard would mean drivers hit the ‘cliff’.

"I preferred when we had to think about it and when we could change the way it was degrading," the Frenchman said.

"It meant at the start of the race if you took it a bit easier then you had an advantage over other people and you could try to go for an overtaking manoeuvre. I liked it. If you ask Felipe [Massa] I think he will say the opposite. I believe it creates overtaking chances."

When those views were put to Hembery he agreed with Grosjean’s opinion, but didn’t want the ‘cliff’ to be so extreme that drivers could, for example, drop from second to 10th on the final lap.

"Probably not to that extreme, but he [Grosjean] is quite right," Hembery added.

"Different people have different views and there are some that say they want tyres that don’t degrade and they can push on, which is probably close to what we’ve got now.

"Others want drivers to have a big influence, like Romain suggested there, where the driving style and ability can make the difference. So I think somewhere in the middle is probably where we are going to be."