Just who will supply 2014 F1 tyres?

[John S]

Rumour mill has Michelin squarely in frame - they're seeing Bernie!     

They would bring back one stop races as well!    Having multiple stops available is the only way some teams can stay in the game, how boring do they want F1 to get? 

However the f1times.com story, below, seems to make a huge leap connecting Michelin with 2014 for the following reasons. I thought Pirelli had signed contracts with some teams for next year, wonder how the lawyers can get round this and the EU fair competition rules, if the F1 ringmaster gets Todt to impose Michelin as supplier without a tender process?      


Michelin could soon be confirmed as Formula 1's sole tyre supplier for the 2014 season after it emerged in Belgium that the company's motorsport director, Pascal Couasnon, will meet with Bernie Ecclestone next week.

The French manufacturer is keen to return to F1 after a seven year absence after Bridgestone and then Pirelli took over the contract.

Michelin bosses have already met with FIA president Jean Todt to confirm their interest, but at present the governing body is yet to announce a tender or award a contract to either Pirelli or an alternative supplier.

Pirelli's Paul Hembery has already described the situation as "surreal" and says it would be "farcical" to tender at such a late stage, adding: "If you wanted to do that then it should have been done in September of last year. Everybody will look ridiculous in that scenario."

Pirelli has already begun developing its 2014 tyres despite the lack of a signed contract, Michelin however hasn't and is therefore well behind in the process, but claims this isn't a problem even with a January test just five months away.

Should the company emerge as the favourite and win the contract, it is thought to have demanded changes to the regulations, but it wouldn't immediately impose them from next season.

One change it is keen to see in the first season, is the move away from multiple stop races. The company is keen to use F1 as a platform to market its ability to produce durable tyres and wouldn't want to see more than one stop per race.

Another major change, albeit not an immediate one, would be the move to 18-inch wheels instead of the current 13-inches, which the company recently described as "irrelevant to road cars".

By Ryan Wood, f1times.com, Sat 24th August.

 

[cosworth151]

One change it is keen to see in the first season, is the move away from multiple stop races. The company is keen to use F1 as a platform to market its ability to produce durable tyres and wouldn't want to see more than one stop per race.

Another major change, albeit not an immediate one, would be the move to 18-inch wheels instead of the current 13-inches, which the company recently described as "irrelevant to road cars".

Rubbish! What are they going to advertize? "With Michelin, you only have to change your tires once a day instead of two or three!" I'm sure the teams just love not knowing what the tires will be like this later in the design process.

[lkjohnson1950]

The teams will never agree to 18 inch wheels. The tall sidewalls are too important to suspension tuning.

[Scott]

I don't think that anyone really sees correlation between a tire built for F1 and the tires of a road car aside from perhaps the quality of the build.  Making F1 tires look more like road tires is retarded.

Besides, I'd rather they make road tires look more like F1 tires - I'd buy the first set someone puts together like that.  I'll take the red walls, by the way.   

[Alianora La Canta]

The FIA has made it very clear that its own tendering process is the only valid one regarding the tyre supplier. The EU settlement with the FIA back in 2000 made it clear that the FIA, not FOM or Pirelli or any other party, sets out technical rules (though the FIA may consult with whoever it pleases). The individual contracts Pirelli's pursued with teams will be valid if and only if it is selected (presumably these cover commercial arrangements to cover the cost of Pirelli's tyre supply).

This is not a secret to anyone, so if Pirelli tries to claim there was ever any different understanding between the FIA and its tyre suppliers, then Pirelli will be laughed out of court.

The FIA is not obliged to make a decision on tyres until September 30 this year, so the teams should not be surprised that it hasn't decided yet. They are, of course, entitled to be really, really grumpy, as part of the reason this length of tyre contract was decided was so that it wouldn't interfere with the new powertrain regulations for 2014. With the original plan, the tyre changes, if any, would have been the thing to spice up the second or possibly third year of the new powertrain regulations, not coinciding with the confusion surrounding its debut.