With six World Champs and "a slew" of talented drivers without a title on the 2012 grid, Paul Hembery reckons this season could be the best ever.
Kimi Raikkonen's return to Formula One with Lotus has brought the number of World Champions up to six as he joins Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.
As for the number of titles between those six drivers, that is sitting at 14.
So it's no wonder that Hembery, Pirelli's motorsport director, reckons Formula One fans are in for a treat this season.
Asked by Turun Sanomat whether this year's field holds the highest level of competition seen in F1, he said: "It probably is, also when you take into account that there is a slew of talented drivers who have not won a Championship.
"The level is very high, perhaps the highest that has ever been seen.
"If the level of the cars is just as high, and their performance is sky high, we will see a lot of astonishingly good races."
As for his thoughts on Raikkonen, Hembery said: "I met Kimi twice. He is a quiet guy and we strive to keep some distance between us and the drivers. We don't get the story. Drivers turn to us when they need something."
The Pirelli motorsport director was also not able to comment on Raikkonen's two-day test with Lotus, which took place at the Valencia circuit earlier this week, saying Pirelli did not monitor the action.
"We did not at all because it was a Lotus team's private thing."
