Feature: Back to the Bigger Picture at Monza

Formula One bosses have, on occasion, been accused of failing to see the wood for the trees.

Sunday's Italian Grand Prix at Monza, a leafy royal park outside Milan whose venerable trees provide the backdrop for Ferrari's home race, offers the sport a chance to concentrate on the bigger picture.

A truce has been declared after two weeks of tyre wars, fought over millimetres of tread, but it remains to be seen whether hostilities are really over.

Most Formula One fans hope so, keeping their fingers crossed that the most exciting and closely-fought Championship in years does not get bogged down in mutual recrimination, technical minutiae and protests.

After a season of memorable races, with three challengers for the Championship split by just two points with three races remaining, nobody wants the title decided by lawyers in a courtroom.

They want to see Ferrari's Michael Schumacher, leader by one point over Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya and two clear of McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen, in a fair fight.

Grey Areas

But there are several grey areas after Ferrari and tyre supplier Bridgestone accused Michelin and their teams of breaking the rules.

Michelin deny the accusations but have had to redesign their front tyres to ensure Williams, who lead the Constructors' Championship, and McLaren are not disqualified on Sunday for running cars with too much tread.

There has been plenty of overtime put in at Michelin's Clermont Ferrand headquarters while the attention of teams has been distracted from the business of preparing for Monza.

According to the sport's governing body, the International Automobile Federation (FIA), the matter is now closed.

Their experts have seen examples of Michelin's new tyres in new and used conditions and say that they believe they "will comply with the Formula One regulations if used in the same way at Monza".

"As far as the FIA technical department is concerned, the matter is now closed and the Championship can continue with all teams on an equal footing," the FIA said.

Those of a more cynical inclination will keep an open mind. Wishful thinking has never been in short supply in Formula One. The FIA statement does not say that the tyres will definitely pass post-race inspection and it merely states that the matter is now closed from an FIA perspective - not from that of the teams.

It does not say that it cannot be reopened.

Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn, who stung Michelin with some of the angrier accusations, may find out soon enough just how deep the hatchet has been buried.

Brawn is scheduled to appear at a news conference on Friday with bosses from three of the Michelin teams - Williams technical director Patrick Head, McLaren team boss Ron Dennis and Renault's Flavio Briatore.

It could be that they draw a line under the matter and get back to the business of racing.

But the question of retrospective action, with Ferrari threatening to protest the results of a string of races run on the contested tyres, has also to be addressed.

Other Doubts

Friday, with the cars on the track for first qualifying, should provide answers to other lingering doubts.

Can it really be, as some teams have suggested, that the new Michelins may perform better than the old?

Will Montoya and Raikkonen have the equipment to continue putting pressure on Schumacher?

If they falter now, will that then fuel Ferrari's arguments that Michelin, dominant in Hungary and winners of four of the last five races, owed so much to those controversial millimetres?

There are plenty of questions to be answered.