Formula 1
Thiessen remains calm over tyre troubles
The FIA decision to measure tyre width after races as well as before, to make sure the rubber conforms to the 270 mm allowance has caused a bit of a headache for Michelin. The manufacturer's tyres are reportedly over the width allowance once the ...
Published: Sep 2, 2003, 11:56 AM
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The FIA decision to measure tyre width after races as well as before, to make sure the rubber conforms to the 270 mm allowance has caused a bit of a headache for Michelin. The manufacturer's tyres are reportedly over the width allowance once the tread has worn down and motorsport director Pierre Dupasquier said a new tyre could not be built in time for Monza.
BMW's Mario Thiessen, however, is taking a 'wait and see' attitude and said there has been no problems in the races so far this year. "There were some talks on the subject of the tyres," Thiessen told Germany's SID news.
"But we are following the situation in a calm manner and are quietly waiting to see what will happen for Monza. After each race, there was a technical inspection and during the first 13 Grands Prix the FIA never incriminated anybody."
Renault technical director Mike Gascoyne wants to know exactly how the FIA would judge if tyre degradation is instrumental in giving an advantage. "What they (the FIA) are saying is the way the Michelin tyre deforms, and then the part of the rubber that comes into contact with the road, when they look at it after the race, it could be wider than 270mm," he told BBC radio.
"So how do you decide whether it was bigger than 270mm at any point, or whether it was random, touching a corner, or a kerb on a corner, or whether it was happening all the time and giving an advantage ?"
Michelin supplies Williams, McLaren, Renault, Jaguar and Toyota. Title challengers Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams) and Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren) could face problems if Michelin's tyres do indeed fail to conform to the FIA rule after races but it appears there is not much the manufacturer can do to reverse the decision. Bridgestone has had little to say about the situation but, of course, it is advantageous to its partner teams.
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