Michelin suggests tyre measures

The World Motor Sport Council announced on Wednesday that it would implement its own measures if the Technical Working Group did not agree on adequate reductions in terms of speeds, and highlighted the high-speed accidents of Felipe Massa in Canada and Ralf Schumacher in America as cases in point.

Michelin's proposals are thus:

The use of one set of tyres for qualifying and race
Between four sets and two sets of dry tyres to be available for each driver per weekend, available in one or two types
Supply of the same specification prime and same specification option for all teams
Six sets per team for each test day (with a recommendation for a drastic reduction in testing during the F1 season)

"We believe that the FIA's objectives can be met by implementing these proposals," said Michelin's Pierre Dupasquier. "Firstly, to be able to provide tyres that last much longer, we will be obliged to use much harder compounds, which in turn will be less 'grippy', thus reducing speeds.

"Secondly, to seriously reduce costs, testing must be limited. This can be complemented by providing fewer tyres, so the amount of testing would be further reduced. I'm sure there can be a saving in teams' operation costs of over 50 percent.

"And finally, these 'hard' tyres will leave less rubber on the track, making the 'dirty' line a thing of the past and therefore encourage overtaking, something everybody around F1 wants."