The FIA set to rewind the clock... AgainMichelin Motorsport Director Pierre Dupasquier has criticised plans to re-introduce tyre changes to Formula One next year but confirmed the company will back the proposal if it gets the go-ahead.
The FIA, released a raft of proposals
for the 2006 regulations on Saturday and they included the scrapping of the requirement, introduced at the start of the year, for one set of tyres per race.
The moves would make this year's tyre development redundant and leave the two manufacturers, Michelin and Bridgestone, with more expensive testing to perform at a time when the sport is calling for cost cuts.
"If the rules change, we design the tyre for other rules, it is not a problem, but we thought it was a good decision to change last year so we are not happy," Dupasquier said. "We believe that if one tyre lasts longer it is good for saving tyres and saving costs, testing was the same thing, we had to do a long run with the tyre, which is better, so I personally prefer today's rule. Right now (the rule) is fine for everyone. We talked to our friends from Bridgestone and they said it is fine, we don't need any change, so I don't know why they (the FIA) introduce the change again."
The proposals will be voted on at a meeting of the Formula One Commission in London on October 24 but they received mixed views from the paddock after their announcement during the Japanese Grand Prix.
The single tyre rule has proved to be dangerous at times this season, most dramatically when a flat-spot caused
Kimi Raikkonen's suspension to fail on the final lap of the European Grand Prix in May, robbing him of victory. The change in the regulations did turn the sport upside down, however, and Michelin moved to the top of the pile, winning their first drivers' and constructors' championships as Bridgestone failed to match their response.
After seeing Bridgestone's dominance under the old regulations Dupasquier believes a change back to the previous format could significantly alter the current order of the teams in the championship.
"We would go back to what we were doing last year, a tyre that was forced to 150km, we would go back to this technology," said Dupasquier. "That would make a big change."
Michelin have already been at loggerheads with the FIA this season over proposals for a single tyre manufacturer in 2008 and threatened to make an early departure from the sport if they were further aggrieved. But Dupasquier confirmed that the latest proposals would not alter Michelin's long-term plans.
E.A. Source AFP
