Michelin will decide this week on its return to F1
The tire manufacturer Michelin is expected to make a decision this week regarding a possible return to Formula 1.
Pascal Couasnon, director of competition at Michelin, told the website Motorsport that the Auvergne-based company was still undecided about a possible bid to become a tire supplier in Formula 1. As a reminder, a call for tenders was launched by the FIA concerning the supply of tires for the 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons.
A decision will be made in the coming days, confirms Couasnon: « We are giving ourselves a few days to decide, but for now it’s 50/50 on a possible positive response to the call for tenders. We have our ideas and we have discussed them. We want to give the teams the opportunity to apply them well, so I would say that in the next few days, we will finally decide and next week, we will know what will happen. »
Michelin is ready to make a return to Formula 1, but the company would like to supply tires with a diameter of 18 inches, compared to the current 13 inches: « It is clear that Michelin is open to discussion regarding the diameter, but we believe it would make no sense to continue with the current sizes. That would be really difficult for us. »
Pirelli, the current tire supplier, should respond favorably to the FIA’s call for tenders.
