Tyre War - Good thing or bad thing?

[Yoong Montoya]

I would say it can be a good thing if the tyres and cars are evenly matched, bad thing if not. Last year, Bridgestone had the best tyre and Ferrari had the best car. Result? Annihilation of the rest of the grid. The tyre war ruined last season.

This year, Michelin and Bridgestone seem more evenly matched, and the new Ferrari doesn't seem as good as last year's car. We've also had 5 different winners from 7 races, so at the moment, the tyre war has been a good thing this season.

So, is a tyre war good or bad generally and why?

[Logrence]

It's another aspect of the sport - it's another thing for the anoraks to think about and it makes it more exciting for us to watch (occasionally!)

[esorniloc]

What would make it better is if a 3rd tyre manufacturer came into the sport!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whats Goodyear doing these days???????

[Mr V]

Originally posted by esorniloc
What would make it better is if a 3rd tyre manufacturer came into the sport!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whats Goodyear doing these days???????

Agreed on that, the more tyre manufacturers the better imo.

[Knowlesy]

Goodyear are coming back within the next three years.

I think a tyre war is a good thing when the two manufacturers are both doing well, like this year. Michelin are helping the teams give Ferrari a good run for their money and the advantage changes from track to track. However, last year was rubbish due to the fact that Michelin were tat at places.

But would Ferrari have such an advantage if Bridgestone monopolised the sport again? I think not.

[DriverT]

I think a tyre wars is a good thing, but only if it doesn't get to the crazy heights it did in 1997 or so. I remember the Spanish Grand Prix in that year being an absolute farce due to tyres going off after about 10 laps! So at the moment it is good, particularly when they can gain such a huge amount of time. Also it makes F1 more unpredictable.

[Sodemo]

I think the biggest factor everyone keeps overlooking with the tyre war is that the tyres have become super-soft compared to the rocks they were using in 1999.

The tyre war has made the 2 manufacturers produce stickier and grippier rubber which helps drivers with mechanical grip and aids overtaking.

[Omega99]

It's certainly been fun watching the Bridgestone's start out faster than the Michelin's but then watching the Michelin's wear in and make a charge at the leaders. With any "war" in racing, it usually sparks competition that improves the racing, and sometimes one side figures something out that no one else thought of and they're unbeatable for a year. It all balances out in the end.

[neilap]

If there was only one tire manufacturer then all the teams would build their cars around that tire. With Bridgestone favoring Ferrari, what are the rest of the teams to do, build their cars around Ferraari? When MS wins his 6th title will anyone care what tires he had on his car. IMO tires should never determine the race result. If each team had its own manufacturer then maybe, but since the wealth is not evenly spread I feel its one of the worst things in F1 now. If BAR ever builds a really unique car they will be screwed. If the car does not work like the Ferrari then they may as well forget it. Also with the way the situation is now, which other Bridgestone team can beat Ferrari? Even with a better car they will not be able to.

Remember why Maclaren switched. They knew they would never get a fair shake with Bridgestone.

[TeddyG]

While I think it is a good thing for the development of stickier and faster tyres, I tend to agree with neilap that the tyre manufactures will favor the top teams and build their tyres more around the likes of Ferrari, McLaren, Williams and perhaps Renault now.

Michelin is really putting the pressure on Bridgestone as they supply three of these top four teams. Bridgestone only really has Ferrari as a team that can consistently challenge for wins and podiums so it is pretty obvious most of their focus will be on them.

Above all else the tyre manufacturer wants to provide the rubber for the CHAMPIONSHIP team, I mean honestly who cares who supplied 2nd and 3rd??? In this respect a tyre war will always favor the top teams, Bridgestone (Ferrari) and Michelin (most likely McLaren now above others).
This is too bad, as neilap was saying, because it hinders the development of mid field teams like BAR, forcing them to design their car around what they expect the top teams cars to be like. And yes I think it prevents unique and revolutionary designs, from the mid-field teams anyway.

However wasn't a rule passed last year that tyre companies may develope different tyres for different teams? As the problem for Michelin last year was that they had to compromise between McLaren and Williams in developing their compounds, which slowed both cars down while Bridgestone simply produced compounds ideal for the Ferrari.
Even if this rule was passed I still cannot see either manufacturer really giving each team an equal amount of consideration. Like I said they only care about supplying the team that wins the championship so their focus will always be on the top teams.

So a tyre war is most likely a good thing for the top teams while the mid-field and back markers would probably prefer that all teams were on the same rubber.

[Omega99]

Then again, this is really the nature of Formula 1. Every team and every manufacturer tries to get an edge over the others by any amount of money or politics necessary. In fact, it's the nature of any racing series. Unless you want a spec series where drivers jump into random cars at the beginning of the weekend, you're never going to have a truly level playing field. I just do my best to ignore the politics and let drivers and technology decide the race for me.

[Ferrari No.27]

Originally posted by knowlesy
Goodyear are coming back within the next three years.

I think a tyre war is a good thing when the two manufacturers are both doing well, like this year. Michelin are helping the teams give Ferrari a good run for their money and the advantage changes from track to track. However, last year was rubbish due to the fact that Michelin were tat at places.
.

I agree with that. Michelins runners are giving Ferrari a good rin for their money. Personally I fell if you put all the cars on the same tyre (say Bridgestone). Ferrari would be further ahead of the field than they are now.

[pole2pole]

I think a tyre war is bad for the sport. At the start of a race weekend we find out if the track is a Michelin track or a Bridgestone track the result will be that a number of teams will be on the wrong rubber. There is such a massive difference in performance between the right and wrong tyre so much so that this years championship could be decided by who has the right rubber

[garagegirl]

i like the tyre war. i've noticed different tyres seem better at different tracks, which makes it a little bit more interesting

[kuchi]

I think when there is competition, the more interesting a sport gets. This tyre battle is helping F1 to be more fun to watch, and to make it more uncertain, it's good to me.

[garagegirl]

Originally posted by kuchi
I think when there is competition, the more interesting a sport gets. This tyre battle is helping F1 to be more fun to watch, and to make it more uncertain, it's good to me.

exactly!!