Mosley may have to get tough on tyre war

The FIA has attempted to contain speeds in F1 by introducing revised aerodynamic regulations for 2001 - the front wing must be higher and fewer elements are permitted in the rear wing - but with Michelin returning to the sport to take on Bridgestone, winter testing has seen lap times tumble. For example, Barcelona's lap record was recently smashed by Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello, albeit in a 2000-spec car, on 2001 rubber.

Mosley is concerned that the reductions in downforce may not be enough to detract from the extra grip afforded by the softer compounds being used by the tyre companies. Extra measures may have to be introduced to keep speeds at an acceptable level.

"It would appear from early testing that, as usual, the aerodynamic changes are not enough to compensate for the increase in speed," said Mosley, "but we will have to see how that develops.

"I fear that the tyre competition may make a noticeable difference to speed and if this becomes what we [the FIA] judge to be excessive, then we can and will take measures to reduce the grip of the tyres by, for example, decreasing the amount of rubber on the road."

The governing body may run into further trouble with the wearing down of obligatory grooves in the tyres, introduced in 1998 to reduce mechanical grip. Michelin boss Pierre Dupasquier expressed concern late last year that tyres may provide more grip at the end of a stint when the grooves have worn away and that there are no methods are in place to police this.

"The indications are that tyres will be faster when they are new, when they have got grooves in them," said Mosley. "If it should ever get to the stage where when they're worn down they actually start to be faster, there are a number of measures we can take.

"We can measure the depth of the groove and also measure the depth of the rubber underneath. Plus, in the worst case, we could even put something in the bottom of the grooves which would make the tyres have very low grip when they got down to that level. If it does become a problem we will act very quickly."

Mosley, whose presidency is up for election at the end of the year, is also confident that the tyre war will help to ensure that the race for both the drivers' and constructors' titles is not a two-horse race. The target for most of the best-of-the-rest teams is to clinch third place in the constructors' standings, as big guns McLaren and Ferrari are expected to be in a league of their own once more.

"I am not at all sure we will see a two-horse race," said Mosley. "It looks like that at this stage of the season, but with Michelin coming in it really does throw all the cards up in the air. If we get a significant difference between the tyres of the two companies at a given race, we may see a very different situation."