Now this would cause some new friction!

I read Dimi Papadoupolas tweeting about this the other day, interesting. I doubt it will happen though.

 

What we have heard for quite sometime here in France (well, Michelin is a french company, after all...) is that they wound definitively not be interested at all if the wheel dimensions stay the same. They want bigger rims diameter, if possible to 18' inches at least, so as to have wheels and tyres closer to what is now on an average car.

Rgds

 

I thought rubber was denser ie heavier than forged aluminum, so contrary to what the article said, wouldn't the larger diameter wheel actually boost performance via just unsprung weight since there is less rubber per corner w low profile tires?

The additional diameter wheel can also potentially boost any aero / cooling effect the teams are running and less rubber potentially can also mean the tires can get into the optimal operating window faster which could make for some more exciting qualy sessions?

An 18" diameter wheel is a tall order though.

 

Yes, larger wheel diameters would increase performance. The main reason F1 sticks to 13" wheels is to limit braking performance (not that it has succeeded...). Larger wheel diameters would lighten the unsprun load, stiffen the undampped sidewalls allowing slightly softer springs on the car, and would improve the grip and speeds--all things the FIA does not want.....

 

F1 : Michelin sur le point d’annoncer son retour ? - Turbo.fr

It seems that a press conference has been called by Michelin "for the middle of this week"; Nobody knows what they will announce, but they have said that "this will be about Formula One"...

Rgds

 

A better way to accomplish that would be to go away from CF brakes.
Mandating iron rotors and "production" (street) pads would force drivers to pick and choose when to use max braking, trading against brake fade, instead of letting them push every corner.

Should improve overtaking, too.

And any improvements would be usable on street machines.
F1 *is* a "manufacturers' series". It should be improving technology applicable production cars, not esoteric materials useless to the production line.

Larger rims and lower profiles could put tire development closer to what's made for the street, too.

But then, I'm old enough to remember when Goodyear marketed their VR street tire as being based on their F1 rain tire.

Nobody would want to put today's F1 tires on their street cars.

 

Well, in the first place, I think that motorsport is a sport, so it doesn´t need to be useful for anything necessarily.

But as you can see, there are more and more road cars made of composites.

 

As for today (Thursday, Aug 8th at 10:00 in the morning here) it now seems that the news about a possible return of Michelin in Formula 1 were premature; it seems to have originated during the german Grand Prix, but there will most probably be no press conference whatsoever.
Furthermore, "a source close to Michelin" claims that they remain NOT interested in formula 1 for the time being, due to the tyres having nothing to do in their dimensions with standard road tyres, and furthermore that they would be only interested in tyres that would last for the whole race...

Rgds

 

Can't blame them. Why do they want to learn things from racing? So they can actually apply the knowledge they garner to everyday use to the benefit of we mere mortals? Lol.

As LdM has stated the aero in f1 has reached the point that it is of no benefit to street vehicles. He'd like more developments on the mechanical side but that is not an option.

 

Why would you want to join F1 if you're Michelin? The days of actually having competition and being able to build a superior product are over. Now you have to create tires that don't last on purpose.

Why spend tens of millions just to have your product run around? A company like Michelin probably wants to COMPETE.

 

I suspect/hope that F1 has realized the folly of the self destructing tires and that if Michelin were to reenter that there would be real and honest competition.

 

...but the cars would get faster and that is a big "NO NO" these days. Couldn't have that.

 

No matter who likes it there are changes coming. The new formula, finance issues, return of testing and a rethink of the tire situation will all have effects.
What they are and if they'll be improvements remains to be seen.
Stay tuned.

 

IMO, F1's business model is broken and has been for some time. With the withdraw of tobacco money and the recession, it has finally started to catch up with them. A multitude of things have contributed to this.

 

True. As the sponsorship deals expire the extent of the damage is becoming obvious to all.
The teams have had to see it coming.

 

+1

The absurd race hosting fees should have been a huge red flag. Way too much money is going to the hands of a few. More money to the teams, more money to the tracks, stable rules.

 

The sport needs to get back to its roots. The fans in the stands may not be big money generators but they are the best indicator of the sports health. Ignore and abuse them at your peril Bernie.

 

The glory days of F1 were probably over when it became business first, sports second.

 

They have again stated their point of view here recently, and nothing has changed: they would consider F1, provided that:

- tyre will be more relevant with the actual "every day" tyre, so at least 18" rims or bigger, but 18" is their favorite dimension (note that the Le Mans cars have big rims...)
- no more than one stop per race, but preferably a tyre lasting the entire race
- they would prefer to have some competition from another manufacturer.

Rgds