adminBUDAPEST (Hungary) — Bernie Ecclestone will decide whether Michelin or current supplier Pirelli will win a three-year tyre contract in Formula 1 from 2017. Both tyre makers passed technical and safety hurdles. The governing International Automobile Federation said on Wednesday, ahead of the Hungarian F1 GP, that the two had met the requirements to become approved bidders and had been submitted to the sport’s commercial rights holder.
Ecclestone, the commercial supremo who represents controlling shareholder CVC, will conduct negotiations with both and make a decision for the federation’s World Motor Sport Council to approve.
The body’s next scheduled meeting will be on September 30 in Paris.
Michelin withdrew from F1 in 2006, a year after a farcical US GP that went ahead with only six cars after all the Michelin-equipped teams pulled out on safety grounds.
The sport has had a sole supplier since then, first Bridgestone then, from 2011, Pirelli.
Ecclestone indicated earlier in 2015 year that he favoured retaining Pirelli, which also invests heavily in trackside advertising. — Reuters.
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