Still undecided about the future of tires

F1 will probably not be able to resolve the tire issue for 2011 before the Spanish Grand Prix scheduled for next weekend.

Ferrari sporting director Stefano Domenicali and FOTA president Martin Whitmarsh said last week that the tire situation would be decided by the Barcelona race.

“I think we will know something more, I would say one hundred percent, by Barcelona,” Domenicali said before leaving Shanghai.

But after Wednesday's FOTA meeting, technical director Sam Michael said a decision before the race in Spain was unlikely.

The F1 team alliance has reached an agreement in principle with Michelin to supply tires next year, but Avon has put forward a cheaper proposal which appears to have the backing of Bernie Ecclestone and smaller teams .

Pirelli has also shown interest in returning to F1, but during Wednesday's meeting FOTA discussions focused most of the time on the choice between Avon and Michelin.

“Avon's proposition is cheaper but their product is less proven, even though they have made quite competitive tyres,” Michael told the BBC.

“They (Avon) are a bigger unknown than Michelin because Michelin was in F1 until recently. But there is a significant difference in costs for the teams between the two proposals,” she added.

Andre' Cotta