Would F1 benefit from multiple tire suppliers? - MotorSportsTalk

Since entering the sport in 2011, Pirelli have enjoyed the luxury of being the only tire supplier in Formula One. With all teams on the same rubber, it certainly creates equality, but with tires the key component when deciding a strategy, could a second tire supplier be good for the sport?

Pirelli’s Formula One chief Paul Hembery has made his stance clear: Pirelli are in it alone, or not at all. He believes that if there was a second tire supplier, both companies would be spending millions of dollars to gain a slim advantage. The costs spiral for the suppliers, meaning that the teams will have to make up the difference, and with many outfits struggling to stay afloat, it could cause financial trouble.

The advantage of competition between two tire suppliers would be increased efficiency. Back in 2006 (the last season with multiple suppliers), Michelin and Bridgestone worked alongside Renault and Ferrari respectively on either side of a championship battle. As the season rolled on, the tires improved in quality race-by-race. Although Pirelli do have an incentive to produce high quality tires for the sport, this would be an even greater one with the presence of a second supplier.

The ban on refueling came into effect in 2010, placing a greater importance on the tires. Just as teams have the choice between engine suppliers, by being able to choose which tire supplier they work with, it could lead to a far closer working relationship, therefore improving the standard of racing as teams can give better feedback. Pirelli do however get this feedback from all eleven teams: surely this leads to a tire that is suited to the whole grid?

A second tire supplier would add another sporting twist to Formula One, but in the current economic climate, it would be unwise. Teams are struggling to stay in the sport, so being forced to pay an extra $5m for their tires would only make things tighter. The parity currently enjoyed by the teams does also stem from them all using the same tires. Ferrari forged a particularly strong partnership with Bridgestone in the early 2000s, which many believed went too far. Whilst Pirelli continue to deliver a good set of tires which spice up the racing (which they have done so far), it is hard to find a strong argument for bringing a second company into the fray. Regardless, it is certainly an option the FIA will be considering whilst rumors hang over Pirelli’s future.

Media and fan attention focused on a controversial run-in between Haiden Deegan and his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammate Jordon Smith during Round 10 of the Monster Energy Supercross race at Detroit, after which the 250 East points’ Hunter Lawrence defends the young rider in the postrace news conference.

Deegan took the early lead in Heat 1 of the round, but the mood swiftly changed when he became embroiled in a spirited battle with teammate Smith.

On Lap 3, Smith caught Deegan with a fast pass through the whoops. Smith briefly held the lead heading into a bowl turn but Deegan had the inside line and threw a block pass. In the next few turns, the action heated up until Smith eventually ran into the back of Deegan’s Yamaha and crashed.

One of the highlights of the battle seemed to include a moment when Deegan waited on Smith in order to throw a second block pass, adding fuel to the controversy.

After his initial crash, Smith fell to seventh on the next lap. He would crash twice more during the event, ultimately finishing four laps off the pace in 20th.

The topic was inevitably part of the postrace news conference.

“It was good racing; it was fun,” Deegan said at about the 27-minute mark in the video above. “I just had some fun doing it.”

Smith had more trouble in the Last Chance Qualifier. He stalled his bike in heavy traffic, worked his way into a battle for fourth with the checkers in sight, but crashed a few yards shy of the finish line and was credited with seventh. Smith earned zero points and fell to sixth in the standings.

Lawrence defends Deegan — *Jordon Smith failed to make the Detroit Supercross Main and fell to sixth in the points. – Feld Motor Sports*

“I think he’s like fifth in points,” Deegan said. “He’s a little out of it. Beside that it was good, I don’t know. I wasn’t really paying attention.”

Deegan jokingly deflected an earlier question with the response that he wasn’t paying attention during the incident.

“He’s my teammate, but he’s a veteran, he’s been in this sport for a while,” Deegan said. “I was up there just battling. I want to win as much as everybody else. It doesn’t matter if it’s a heat race or a main; I just want to win. I was just trying to push that.”

As Deegan and Smith battled, Jeremy Martin took the lead. Deegan finished second in the heat and backed up his performance with a solid third-place showing in the main, which was his second podium finish in a short six-race career. Deegan’s first podium was earned at Daytona, just two rounds ago.

But as Deegan struggled to find something meaningful to say, unsurprisingly for a 17-year-old rider who was not scheduled to run the full 250 schedule this year, it was the championship leader Lawrence who came to his defense.

“I just want to point something out, which kind of amazes me,” Lawrence said during the conference. “So many of the people on social media, where everyone puts their expertise in, are saying the racing back in the ’80s, the early 90s, when me were men. They’re always talking about how gnarly it was and then anytime a block pass or something happens now, everyone cries about it.

“That’s just a little bit interesting. Pick one. You want the gnarly block passes from 10 years ago and then you get it, everyone makes a big song and dance about it.”

Pressed further, Lawrence defended not only the pass but the decision-making process that gets employed lap after lap in a Supercross race.

“It’s easy to point the finger,” Lawrence said. “We’re out there making decisions in a split millisecond. People have all month to pay their phone bill and they still can’t do that on time.

“We’re making decisions at such a fast reaction [time with] adrenaline. … I’m not just saying it for me or Haiden. I speak for all the guys. No one is perfect and we’re under a microscope out there. The media is really quick to point a finger when someone makes a mistake.”

The media is required to hold athletes accountable for their actions. They are also required to tell the complete story.

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