In the recent months, rumors of Michelin’s return to Formula One have been floating around the media. In Russia, it has been decided what company will be the supplier of Formula One in the seasons to come.
According to Pirelli, the Italian tyre manufacturing company has agreed to be the sole tyre supplier for another three seasons when their current contract expires next season. This means that Michelin, Goodyear, Bridgestone, Firestone or any other interested tyre supplier will not have the chance to join Formula One until the 2020 season.
“First and foremost, we’re delighted to confirm that we reached a commercial agreement with Bernie Ecclestone to remain in Formula One for the 2017-2019 period,” Paul Hembery, director of motorsport at Pirelli, explained to the press following the Russian Grand Prix. “The process to the formal FIA official nomination will follow with its procedure.”
It was heavily discussed that we would see two different tyre suppliers in Formula One. This is something that we haven’t had in Formula One since Michelin and Bridgestone shared the stage in the 2006 season. In June of this year, it was confirmed that Michelin had made a bid to return to Formula One as a tyre supplier.
Pirelli made their first Formula One appearance in the inaugural season, along with Firestone, Dunlop and Englebert. A car with Pirelli tyres won all of the races, except for the Indianapolis 500 where the American Firestone tyres would take victory. After another eight seasons in Formula One, during most of which Pirelli was the top tyre, Pirelli would exit Formula One. They would return in 1981 and leave again after 1991, missing the 1987 and 1988 seasons. Pirelli took the place of Bridgestone in 2011 as the sole tyre supplier, a position that they would hold until the present day.
Pirelli has been the center for various controversies in the recent seasons. Events like the 2013 British Grand Prix, 2013 and 2015 Belgian Grand Prix have led many to question the structural integrity and quality of Pirelli’s tyre designs. Not to mention, the recent tyre pressure incident in Italy this season that exposed an issue with the regulations regarding tyre pressure measurements. Despite these issues, Pirelli motors on and has done a spectacular job to develop a cutting edge tyre without hardly any testing. We haven’t seen a big controversy like the 2005 United States Grand Prix yet.
It’s really a lose-lose situation for Pirelli at the moment. Some fans would like to see a tyre that will last the entire race and others would like to see more pit stops. It would be impossible for Pirelli to please everyone. All of the suppliers receive complaints, whether it is tyres, engines, transmissions. No matter whether you like or dislike Pirelli, they are going an excellent job and are a great asset to the sport.
