Michelin defends legality of tyres

Michelin has insisted that its front tyres are legal, following a reinterpretation of the rules by the FIA that could force the French tyre supplier to replace its current tyres before the next round of the Formula 1 world championship in Monza. The company has hit out at the timing of the new interpretation, and has called on the sports governing body, the FIA, to delay any such changes until the 2004 season

The FIA wrote a letter to all F1 teams this week stating that it will change the way that front tyre tread width will be measured. Tyres are currently measured before the start of the race, but will not be measured after, following complaints that some tyres increase in width when their tread runs down.

But Michelin has issued a statement which insists that its "front tyre profile has been deemed to comply with the F1 regulations in writing by the FIA."

The tyre supplier continues by saying that the fact that the exact procedure to measure the width of a tyre's contact patch is now unknown prevents it from conducting further development work on its tyres, and the lack of clarity of the new rules could lead to problems over their interpretation.

The statement reads: "We can expect some difficulties in the definition since a tyre in its use can be in systematic contact with various 'objects', for example kerbs, which, according to their profile and position, can touch up as far as the middle of the side walls."

The Michelin statement concludes by saying that the company is open to talks about changing the regulations for next season, but feels that "it is of course not realistic to ask for it before the Italian Grand Prix."