Schumacher: “The competition between Pirelli and Michelin will bring decent tyres”

Michael Schumacher has had his say on Michelin's return to F1 and after his criticism of Pirelli he is convinced that a new "tire war" would bring advantages to F1.

Germany's Auto Bild revealed that FIA president Jean Todt would be keen to see a Michelin return to competitive sport. The French manufacturer has categorically stated that he would only be willing to return to F1 if the rules were changed to allow tire manufacturers to compete against each other. During the FOTA fan forum in Stuttgart yesterday, the seven-time world champion admitted that he too would like to see tire competition once again. “I am absolutely in favor of the arrival of another manufacturer, because then we could finally have decent tyres”, said the 43-year-old German from Mercedes.

In recent weeks the former Ferrari driver had been caught several times criticizing Pirelli's compounds, describing the experience of driving his Mercedes “like driving on eggshells”. For its part, Pirelli, through the director of the Motorsport sector Paul Hembery, has always reiterated that the compounds reflect the specifications chosen by the FIA ​​to improve the spectacle and make the races more exciting. The arrival of Michelin could actually put an end to this situation of uncertainty which is very entertaining for the public, less so for the drivers. However, F1 is moving in the direction of spectacle and entertainment and the German himself is in favor of an increase in races to more than 20 Grands Prix per season. “I think there are 34 days of football matches that are watched on television with the Bundesliga”, Schumacher said, referring to the German Serie A. “I think there is still room for more F1 races on TV”. But Schumi, accustomed to winning championships in the middle of the season, does not imagine that there would be little interest for a fan in seeing 22 or 24 GPs dominated by the current Vettel, as happened last year.

Lorena Bianchi