Michelin rejects a return to F1: the explanations

The call for applications to supply Formula 1 in tires from the 2020 season no longer concerns Michelin. The Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme) manufacturer announced on Friday that he was withdrawing from competition, thus leaving the field open to Pirelli.

Michelin did not follow up on this project, despite a careful analysis of the file, as indicated by the French company. “We have received the technical specifications on which the FIA ​​call for tenders was based and we have studied them carefully. Michelin's recommendations for a switch to 18-inch tires, as in Formula E, were accepted by the authorities, which we are delighted with. »

However, several problems prevented Michelin from launching a return process. F1 for the first time since 2008. “The demand for the supply of 13-inch tires for the 2020 season alone, as well as the degradation of performance as part of the spectacle, clashes with our principles of efficient resource management and respect for sustainable tire technology. »

Indeed, Formula 1 will adopt 2021-inch tires by 18, which will force the tire supplier to develop new technology. It also seems that the FIA's requests to create less technologically advanced tires (as has been the case since the arrival of Pirelli in 2011) do not fit into Michelin's line of action.

“Michelin has therefore decided to refrain from any response to this call for tenders and will continue to follow, in conjunction with its authorities, developments in Formula 1 in the years to come. » The hope of a return from Michelin is therefore not completely extinguished.