Tyre Wars Split F1 into Two Camps

He has a friendly smile, packs a few spare tyres around his bulging waist and has been around for the best part of a century.

Bibendum, Michelin's chubby "tyre man" symbol with the cheery wave, will be back in the Formula One paddock in March as the French manufacturers return after a 16-year absence.

But do not be misled by his benign appearance. Bibendum's presence means war.

"Tyre Wars" have been declared between Michelin and Japan's Bridgestone as Formula One splits into two rival camps for the first time since 1998.

The Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 4 will see the first skirmishes in the battle for supremacy.

Michelin have former champions Williams and Benetton along with Jaguar and Prost on their side while Bridgestone have McLaren and Ferrari, the two teams who won all 17 races between them last season, as well as the rest of the grid.

Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, a former CART champion but a Formula One newcomer with Williams, has no doubt that Bibendum's smile masks a ruthless streak.

"The idea is not to match Bridgestone but to blow them up," Montoya said this month after testing in Spain.

When Goodyear went head to head with Bridgestone in 1998, the tyres played a crucial part in the title outcome with the Japanese newcomers helping McLaren to gain an early lead over Ferrari.

Michael Schumacher claimed at the time that the tyres were responsible for 70 to 75 percent of McLaren's performance advantage.

"After the power of the engine, and sometimes above that, there is nothing on a car that affects its performance as much as the tyres," said former champion Damon Hill at the time.

Time to Adjust

Goodyear, citing rule changes, escalating costs and diminishing returns on their investment, pulled out at the end of 1998 after a record 361 grand prix wins over a 34-year period and left Bridgestone as sole tyre providers.

For the past two seasons, with all 11 teams equipped by them, the tyres have been less in the spotlight.

That will now change. Qualifying tyres are allowed this season and Ferrari's Schumacher has said that the Michelin-shod teams may have the upper hand in some circumstances.

"There will be strong competition between Bridgestone and Michelin...I think the Japanese will have the advantage, at least for this year and especially the beginning of it," said Schumacher.

It took Bridgestone a season to adjust to unfamiliar circuits in 1997 and Michelin have warned already that they may start slowly since they too must feel their way.

Michelin, who introduced radial tyres to Formula One in the 1970s, spent seven years in the sport competing against Goodyear before quitting with 59 race wins and three drivers' titles.

Since then, new circuits such as Malaysia and Melbourne, have been introduced and grooved tyres have replaced the smooth racing slicks of old.

"It's a new discipline for us 100 percent and, seeing as testing is very limited, that makes the learning curve longer," said Michelin's motorsport head Pierre Dupasquier recently.

"So we don't expect anything good from 2001...if we do something good this year it proves either that we are very good or our competitor is very bad," he added.

"We expect McLaren or Ferrari, or both of them, to screw up. Whether that happens this year or in 2002 we don't know. But it will happen and our partners are very determined."

Fear Over Regulations

Jaguar's Eddie Irvine agreed.

"Tyres are very important, they're the only things between you and the ground," he said wryly.

"Some races we're going to maybe struggle a little bit because obviously it's all new, they haven't been to the circuits before.

"But I think over the course of the year they're going to be very strong and it's going to get stronger towards the end.

"Michelin's got a very strong idea of what it wants to do, how it builds its tyres. When you drive on them, you notice they are totally different in the first 200 yards. It's quite incredible.

"I used them at Le Mans in 1993 and they are just totally different from any other tyres I've ever driven on."

They could also prove a rich source for controversy in a sport not shy of conflict and Dupasquier has already warned that, in a tyre war, the regulations could bring chaos.

He said last year that, as many cars finish with the grooves on their tyres worn down so much that they are almost slicks, there was a risk that race results might get overturned on the grounds of excessive tyre wear.

Last season, with all teams running on the same tyres, there was a gentleman's agreement but that might evaporate if one tyre manufacturer felt the other was gaining an advantage.

"Nobody wants to see a driver winning the race, heading the championship and everything and two hours later being told the wear on the tyre was too high," he warned.