Don’t add more grooves, say tyre bosses

Lap times in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix tumbled by almost four seconds as the tyre war between the Japanese and French manufacturers kicked in. But FIA president Max Mosley says that corner speeds will be studied at this weekend's Malaysian GP and in the following race in Brazil before any decision is taken on whether to curb speeds.

With the current engine rules fixed until the end of 2007, the most realistic way to reduce speeds quickly would be to modify the tyre regulations. F1 tyres currently have four grooves cut into them to reduce their contact patch and therefore reduce grip, and this could potentially be increased to five. But that's a solution the tyre companies are against.

"It is definitely the FIA's responsibility to try to slow down the cars through the tyres," said Michelin motorsport director Pierre Dupasquier. "If they ask, we would like to have a more technical device than just one more groove which will make the tyre perform even more sluggishly than it does now.

"There are other ways to do it and we've made suggestions already. There are ways to reduce the rubber on the ground with a more positive and driveable tyre."

Bridgestone racing chief Hiroshi Yasukawa added: "If we put another groove in the tyre, then it would be more difficult and everything would be just a mess. At Bridgestone, we prefer to keep these regulations."

But despite conceding that faster cars are potentially more dangerous, Dupasquier has also questioned whether slowing cars down is good for the sport.

"Formula 1 has to be the most demanding for drivers and teams," he said. "I told the president [Mosley] several times to be careful with slowing down the cars, otherwise we'll end up with a boring formula."