FIA Move to Avoid Indy Repeat
Formula One will not face a repeat of the events at Indianapolis that forced the Michelin teams to withdraw from the race over tyre safety concerns, under plans being put forward by the FIA
The Michelin teams were forced to pull out of the United States Grand Prix after the two types of tyres that had been brought to the event proved unsuitable for the demands of the banked Turn 13.
Formula One's current regulations limit teams to only being allowed to run two types of tyres that have been nominated before the weekend. At Indianapolis neither option was deemed safe for the race, forcing the teams to demand a chicane be built through the final corner or they would not race.
Under proposals for Formula One from the start of 2008, however, teams would be allowed to have a fall-back option of a third 'emergency' tyre if there was a repeat of the Indianapolis event and the sport's tyre manufacturer got its calculations wrong.
In the draft version of the 2008 Formula One technical regulations, which were sent to the teams for approval on Monday, Article 12.5.3 outlines the possibility of different types of tyres being allowed.
The rule states: "If, in the opinion of the appointed tyre supplier and FIA technical delegate, the nominated tyre specification proves to be technically unsuitable, the stewards may authorise the use of additional tyres to a different specification."
FIA president Max Mosley has made no secret of the fact that he believes Michelin were to blame for the events at Indianapolis after failing to ensure that their second specification of tyre was conservative enough to be safe.
"Michelin's job at Indianapolis was to turn up with a racing tyre," he said last week. "That inevitably is something on the limit that may not work on all the cars, but they also have to turn up with a second tyre, which is allowed by the regulations, that would be completely reliable in all circumstances.
"They didn't do that, by their own admission they turned up with two tyres with the same construction but with different compounds. That meant that if there was a problem with the construction, which there turned out to be, they would find themselves in Indianapolis with no usable tyres."
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