Whats the news on tyre manufacturer for F1?

[A911DOM]

Sorry if Im missed this somewhere, but reading some stuff on the BBC website just reminded me of this subject again.

Who will it be, and do the teams get the chance to test with new rubber to gain data? With the F1 setup being so 'balanced' particularly with regard to calculating exact fuel for the race etc, this sort of thing is going to be critical, no?

[chrisfoxon]

It is changing for 2011. In 2010 it is still Bridgestone.

I haven't seen any announcement for 2011 yet though

[cat@10]

I think the testing in Feb will be with this seasons tyres. Bridgestone are going to be gathering as much data as the teams, it seems they haven't finalised the compounds yet.

[A911DOM]

So would you expect Bridgestone to pass on any of this knowledge to the next supplier?

Could wind up with the cars catapulting across the track in 2011 on ling long ditch finders that have had approx 2 months testing in 2011 pre-season

[llewop]

A911DOM said:

So would you expect Bridgestone to pass on any of this knowledge to the next supplier?

Could wind up with the cars catapulting across the track in 2011 on ling long ditch finders that have had approx 2 months testing in 2011 pre-season

can't see any reason why Bridgestone would do that tbh. Most manufacturers have some racing tyres, so not likely to be needed.

But I think it is highly likely that we'll end up with something like your ditch finders with little pre-season testing....

The business model is totally the wrong way round: the FIA/FOM expect the tyre manufacturer to pay for the privilage of supplying the tyres and then also spend a shed load of money developing and supplying thousands of tyres.... Difficult to see who would want to go for a deal like that!

[Redlake27]

It is an interesting one. Since F1 went the single supplier route three years ago, there has been a Bernie-fee to pay to be 'Official F1 tyre supplier'

I can't see anyone stepping in whilst this fee is still in place. It would be more likely that the FIA will be forced to continue with Bridgestone on a customer basis, with the teams paying.

This business model is more like the one Max wanted to set up with Cosworth for engines, and is far more attractive to a tyre manufacturer.

It would be a good brand builder for a relatively unknown company, but I think we can count Kumho out after their recent financial turmoil. http://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/stock-alert/koo...

A new entrant would need to begin a development programme this spring, so if no-one steps forward, expect customer Bridgestones to be the norm. However, this could open the door for multi-suppliers again if the contract wasn't with the FIA or CVC.

[zac510]

It must be pretty high on the FIA/Bernie list at the moment because all of us on the forums seem to be of agreeance that there's no value in it for Bridgestone, Michelin and no other tyre companies could afford it!

So surely we're heading for a change of rules in order to make it commercially viable.

Bridgestone haven't made a demand for a change of rules have they?

[AndrewW-G]

I wouldn’t be surprised if the eventual supplier isn’t one of the newer / smaller outfits, the only one of the bigger players I could see possibly coming back would be Pirelli (no great recent F1 history and have the ability to design and produce a F1 spec tyre)

there is of course the realy daft possibility that one of the cheap chinese brands could get involved.......................................



Wet races would be very interesting

[R6dug]

Have a look here

http://www.crash.net/f1/news/156023/1/two_korean_t...

[Charlie Foxtrot]

AndrewW-G said:

I wouldn’t be surprised if the eventual supplier isn’t one of the newer / smaller outfits, the only one of the bigger players I could see possibly coming back would be Pirelli (no great recent F1 history and have the ability to design and produce a F1 spec tyre)

there is of course the realy daft possibility that one of the cheap chinese brands could get involved.......................................



Wet races would be very interesting

With a choice of Rock Hard or Diamond compounds I can't wait.

[zac510]

They whinge enough about tyres now, imagine some rock hard compound and sidewall made of paper.