Looking for ideas
Formula 1's 2023 hasn't been particularly 'diverse', at least in terms of the number of different winners over the course of the season. When a single team wins 21 races out of 22 and a single driver from that team takes home 19, it is clear that the competitive balance is at home somewhere else. Inevitably, therefore, those who revolve around the world of the Circus have every interest in find solutions that can make future championships more interesting.
A proposal a little outside the box – at least for what is contemporary F1 – came from the former Scottish driver David Coulthardwho spoke on his podcast 'Formula for Success' of the possibility of introduce more different tire suppliers in the category. The last season without a single supplier was 2006, when Bridgestone and Michelin won nine GPs each. From the following year, first the Japanese company itself and then Pirelli had a monopoly on tyres.
Challenge between tire dealers
Currently there is no real discussion among the leaders of sport on the possibility of open the doors to a challenge between tire dealers. The idea of the single supplier is not questioned by the protagonists of the category, mainly for one issue of cost containment. However, Coulthard, who in his career first experienced the challenge between Goodyear and Bridgestone and then the one between Bridgestone and Michelin, is convinced that creating competition to the Pirelli monopoly could help.
“I don't think there is a desire to have competition between tire suppliers at the moment – recognized the former representative of Williams, McLaren and Red Bull – but I think it would be better. Sometimes it would be Pirelli that has the right tire for the circuit and sometimes, by hypothesis, it would be Bridgestone. Competitiveness would vary from one circuit to another based on the only thing that touches the ground, i.e. the tires“.
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