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F1: Still no tyre decision after Turkey

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Khatir Soltani
From GMM

The F1 circus leave Turkey without a decision about the sport's tyre supplier for 2011.

The sport arrived in Istanbul earlier this week amid speculation Pirelli had been selected and would be unveiled as Bridgestone's replacement before the event was out.

But it then emerged that Michelin's Nick Shorrock had arrived in the city, and the French marque's competition boss met for 90 minutes with team bosses on Sunday.

The meeting broke with team figures saying only that a decision has not been made and is not due for a few more days. "It's going to take a little while longer," Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn told Reuters in Turkey.

Because the decision about next year's supplier is taking so long, F1 teams are designing their 2011 cars around the current specification of Bridgestone tyre.

The teams' designers are out of time, and leading outfits are getting anxious. "It's already late and we cannot really waste more time on it," said Ferrari's Stefano Domenicali.

Ross Brawn said the teams are handling the situation by producing a "technical specification" of the tyre they want for 2011, and are therefore able to continue with plans for next year's cars.

"Our cars are being designed around the current tyres because we have no other information," he explained.


Khatir Soltani
Khatir Soltani
Automotive expert
  • Over 6 years experience as a car reviewer
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