[Macfreak7]

I read a couple of articles about this, and i'm a little confused. One article said that Bridgestone accused Michelin of using tyres that failed to meet 'in-race' regulations and that Michelin reponded by saying that they will see to the issue and present new tyres that meet the regulations. That obviously means cars using Michelins had an unfair advantage of wider tyres (i think).

Then i read another article saying that the FIA is going to introduce a NEW way that they measure tyre width which will force Michelin to introduce new tyres which probably won't be as good as the tyres they have been using thus far. Now that sounds fishy. Why would the FIA do such a thing? Perhaps they're in bed with Ferrari and want to compensate for Bridgestone's incompetence? Sounds unlikely to me.
So what's really going on?

:edit: Also, another article says that Ferrari will challenge previous results due to the unfair 'advantage' Michelin users have had so far.
I think they can still win the championships without resorting to such ideas. I know non-Ferrari fans won't agree with that.... but anyway.

[Sherwin]

Originally posted by Macfreak7:
So what's really going on?

They've looked at proper real exciting racing like F3000 and realised that they can't hold a candle to it, so decided to introduce off-track controversy to maintain your interest.

[Macfreak7]

Originally posted by Sherwin:
They've looked at proper real exciting racing like F3000 and realised that they can't hold a candle to it, so decided to introduce off-track controversy to maintain your interest.

Haha. I think the change in the points system did good for that. I'm actually looking forward to the next race, with the top three seperated by a point each.

[nbnz]

The next race is Monza, I was there last year and it was awesome, Ferrari 1-2 last year, I don't think that'll be the case this year.

About the tyres, apparently the tyre along with the chassis design on some of the Michelin shod cars causes more than the regulation (270mm?) tread to be touching the ground during the race - but when they're measured off the car they comply, don't ask me how but that's the impression I got from the articles.

Guess we'll see what happens on the 14th!

[Agasthya]

Originally posted by Macfreak7:
I read a couple of articles about this, and i'm a little confused. One article said that Bridgestone accused Michelin of using tyres that failed to meet 'in-race' regulations and that Michelin reponded by saying that they will see to the issue and present new tyres that meet the regulations. That obviously means cars using Michelins had an unfair advantage of wider tyres (i think).

This part is true - albeit indirectly. Bridgestone obviously has a vested interest in how Ferrari does so they were presented with data that said that the Michelin contact tyres were illegal at the end of the races - apparently they were just informed of this after Hungary even though Michelin has been running the same style tyres since Imola 2001. This prompted them to tell Ferrari. Ferrari took this information and presented it Charlie Whiting and he in turn informed Michelin that Article 77 would be reinterpreted from now on.

Then i read another article saying that the FIA is going to introduce a NEW way that they measure tyre width which will force Michelin to introduce new tyres which probably won't be as good as the tyres they have been using thus far. Now that sounds fishy. Why would the FIA do such a thing? Perhaps they're in bed with Ferrari and want to compensate for Bridgestone's incompetence? Sounds unlikely to me.
So what's really going on?

It is a new method of measurement because in all previous races the measurement took place when the tyres were new - now the FIA are saying that they reserve the right to check the legality of the tyres whenever they want. The most realistic scenario is that they check them after the race because apparently that is when the Michelins are 'illegal.' The funny part of this is that Article 77 also says that the tyres should be inflated to 1.4 bar - if they are measured after the race there is no guarantee that the tyres will be at that pressure because of wear on the tyre.

Michelin introduced a narrower tyre during testing at Monza this week and it was apparently better than the old one! I think Michelin was insulted and was pretty determined to beat down Bridgestone regardless of the circumstances..

:edit: Also, another article says that Ferrari will challenge previous results due to the unfair 'advantage' Michelin users have had so far.
I think they can still win the championships without resorting to such ideas. I know non-Ferrari fans won't agree with that.... but anyway.

Let them protest, it won't go anywhere unless the FIA has saved all the tyres from every single Michelin runner from this year so that they can be remeasured (even if by some ridiculous circumstance the FIA did keep the tyres, Michelin would still complain that the tyres deflated and weren't in the same condition). Ferrari are just making lots of noise thats all.

I think this quote by Patrick Head sums up the situation quite nicely:

Patrick Head:"I might add that Ferrari have always proved as adept in Formula One political matters as they have in terms of their competitiveness on the track and have been very effective in lobbying for changes which work in their favour. But perhaps that's all part of the F1 business and maybe you need to be able to do that."

[Macfreak7]

So eventually, Michelins DID have an unfair advantage over Bridgestones.
16mm of extra width is quite significant I would imagine, to influence the perfomance of an F1 car.
Despite being a Ferrari fan, I don't care about what they say, but the whole issue just sucks. I'd blame the FIA for lack of clear rules, not Michelin. Anyway it's good that they introduced the new rule immediately instead of next season. Wonder how, or if it'll change results.

Actually, this now reminds me of when Ferrari introduced their new um.. F2000 (or was it the F2001), with the new nose with a curve.. and they said something like, it just depends on how you INTERPRET the FIA regulations.. I guess Michelin could say the same thing now, too bad they aren't as shrewd as Ferrari (Ross Brawn, to be precise).

[talisker]

It does kind of suck, as in "It's a shame it's all happened", but as much as I dislike Ferrari (the Manchester United of F1) I don't really blame them over this issue. There IS a questionmark over the legality of the Michelin tyres (mainly caused by a typically vague and inept set of rules from the FIA), Ferrari are in a bit of sh*t, so they choose to try and exploit it. Fair enough. It's the FIA who are at fault over how they've handled the whole situation and muddied the waters even more. What is it with all sports governing bodies? They are all fools. Maybe it's because they employ people based on the fact they're ex-sportsmen (or sons of Hitler-loving fascists - sorry Max), not because they're any good at management.

AFAIK the issue with the Michelins is that the bit we would all recognise as being the tread is raised from the surface of the tyre with a clear drop along the edge, down to the rest of the tyre carcass. The width of this treaded bit complies with the regs when it is new, but after a little bit of wear this edge is worn down and some of the rest of the tyre (ie the not obviously tread bit) comes into contact with the track, providing more grip. Cunning, but a slightly cynical exploitation of the fact the the tyres are measured when new.

Mind you, Monza testing seems to be showing that the Michelin runners aren't suffering too much when they use narrower "legal" rubber, so hopefully we'll still end up with a Colombian or Finnish WDC this year.

[Agasthya]

Originally posted by talisker:
so hopefully we'll still end up with a Colombian or Finnish WDC this year.

Hopefully the Colombian one

[Developer]

Not the Colombian one!