A last-minute offer from Michelin?

Michelin is reportedly about to make a last-minute offer to secure the tire supply contract starting next season. Representatives of the French manufacturer will be present this Sunday in Istanbul to organize a meeting with the various teams on the grid.

A few days ago, we learned that Pirelli was about to finalize the contractual conditions with the teams to ensure its return to F1. To counter the plans of the Italian firm, Michelin will therefore submit a last-minute offer by proposing significant contractual improvements to win the favor of the teams’ decision-makers.

Martin Whitmarsh, the director of McLaren, confirmed that the meeting would indeed take place, despite the favorable opinion expressed by some teams this week regarding the Pirelli contract.

“I think the teams had narrowed the choice down to one direction, but the other potential supplier is proposing to do something more than what they have proposed in the last two days,” he stated, adding, “Someone is going to come here to talk to the teams and submit an improved proposal compared to what their final offer was.”

Even though Pirelli is the preferred path for many teams, some are still sensitive to the advantages of Michelin, which has already proven itself in F1.

Whitmarsh stated that although some teams were motivated by financial considerations, with Pirelli’s offer allowing for a saving of 500,000 euros per team, he believes that other factors were taken into account.

I think some teams want the cheapest possible tire supply, while other teams want the best quality in terms of technical information and technical support, he said.

The McLaren boss knows that the choice of tires will influence the technical directions of future single-seaters.

« It’s now that we must design our cars, and they will fundamentally change due to the ban on the double diffuser and other changes. To do this, we need the characteristics, specifications, and performance data of the tires that will equip our single-seaters… If a mistake is made, even with a contract costing half a million less, the consequences would be considerable, we might have to revisit the wheelbase, or the suspension and geometry, and we would then have spent much more than half a million. »

Martin Whitmarsh concludes by recalling the painful tire errors of the past: Furthermore, we must not take for granted that a tire is just round and black with a hole in the middle. We saw what happened at Indianapolis (in 2005). You can easily find yourself in a situation where the tires are not so solid. If you encounter this problem on Friday and start mentioning a withdrawal from the race, the half-million savings will seem quite small.

Despite the delay in the French manufacturer’s dossier, Whitmarsh stated that he was confident an agreement would be effective with Michelin or Pirelli before the next race in Canada.

Reliability and expertise come at a price, and in this period of austerity, saving money seems to be the key phrase. In the absence of a driver, can we at least count on the presence of French tires next season? We will find out very soon.

In an ideal world, in 2011 all the single-seaters would be equipped with Michelin tires, ART would be the new team on the grid with Nicolas Todt as director. Renault would be the engine supplier for the red and white cars driven by Jules Bianchi, the rookie driver (GP2 champion) teamed with an experienced driver like Franck Montagny. The dream is always allowed.