In the latest twist of an enthralling Formula One season, Michelin motorsport director Pierre Dupasquier has hinted that his teams may decide not to contest the Italian Grand Prix should a threat of exclusion hang over them.
The shock announcement follows yesterday's revelation that several Michelin-shod teams had their tyres checked at the Hungarian Grand Prix and were deemed to be running outside of the regulations. Following a protest made by an unnamed source at the Hungaroring, the five teams - including the title chasing Williams and McLaren outfits - were deemed to have front tyres that exceeded the amount of permissible contact with the track, prompting the FIA to warn that any car which did not comply with the regulations from Monza onwards would be excluded.
"It has become clear that, in certain circumstances, the total front tyre contact patch on some cars can exceed 270mm in width," confirmed the FIA's technical chief Charlie Whiting, "This is despite the fact that, when measured statically on a new tyre, the apparent tread width does not exceed the maximum stipulated in the sporting regulations.
"With immediate effect, any part of a front tyre which we consider has been in regular or systematic contact with the track will be deemed tread and will be taken into account when measuring the width of the tyre as defined in the regulations."
With the continuing development programme conducted by Michelin being accredited with helping both Juan Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen gain ground in the title race, the company's customers are naturally frustrated by the ruling and, according to Dupasquier, could react by shunning the Monza event in two weeks' time.
"It is possible that the five teams using Michelin tyres will not turn up at Monza," the Frenchman told Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper, "Our partners would have to spend a lot of money without any guarantee that they would not be disqualified. It is up to them to decide."
Michelin may have to scrap all of its current tyres and produce a replacement design in just a fortnight in order to ensure that there would be no post-race problems at the Italian event.
"We know we cannot make a new tyre in time, because it would take a few weeks to design and build. It is like saying you have to run a smaller engine for Monza - it is impossible to do in the timescale. So they have no insurance that their tyres will not be oversized at the end of the next race."
Ferrari, which conceded the lead in the constructors' championship to Williams after Michelin runners dominated the top eight in Hungary, insisted that it had not been behind the protest which caused the furore, and the Scuderia's tyre supplier, Bridgestone, took a similarly defensive stance.
"The size of our front tyre contact patch does not concern us," a spokeswoman told Britain's Guardian newspaper, "Bridgestone did not complain, either formally or informally, to the FIA about this issue."
Michelin has written to the FIA to claim that its current tyre complies with the regulations, and asked for any rule changes to be deferred until 2004. The contracted teams have, so far, failed to comment on the issue.
ehm dit gebeurd nooit lijkt mij
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