Michelin pulls all the stops out

The French manufacturer, Michelin, has given all its partner teams the opportunity to change one of their tyre choices after Hockenheim. Following the German Grand Prix and the blistering that their cars (and notably the two Renaults) suffered from, Michelin has pulled all the stops out on its logistics for this week.

Four hours after last Sunday’s race, the French manufacturer had already made an offer to its partners. “We analysed all the parameters available to us and extended to each of our teams the offer to produce a different type of tyre,” explained F1 Programme Director Nick Shorrock.

While the prime tyres had been pre-selected, primarily during the Jerez test session before Hockenheim, the ‘option’ tyre could be re-manufactured. All the Michelin teams took up the offer. “We began producing new tyres on Monday and yesterday, 400 tyres took off for Budapest,” continues Shorrock. “They arrived at the circuit this morning.”

Overall, 7 different constructions and 4 different compounds will be used in Budapest this weekend. “Each team made its choice from configurations that they already knew and had tested,” concludes Shorrock.