Michelin Rumoured Close to F1 Return

If Autosport has it right, Michelin is not far from a decision regarding a return to Formula 1, although not as a sole tyre supplier. According to the autosport.com website, the French tyre maker may make an announcement regarding this during April.

Media reports on the FIA’s exact plans for the 2011 season have been something of a hugger-mugger of late, but it is fairly certain that should Michelin make an F1 comeback, it won’t be the only tyre maker out there on the circuit. The company was cold to suggestions it could become sole tyre supplier when the tender process was opened in 2008, as it believed competition an essential factor for its F1 participation.

Autosport suggests that, although a replacement standard tyre supplier would require the FIA to go through an official tender process, there is a chance the governing body will simply open up the entry criteria to allow any qualified manufacturer in. Hankook and Kumho are but two manufacturers rumoured to have an interest in the championship and thus South Korea may feature prominently in a second F1 tyre war.