Let's Get More Tyre Wars Back Into Track Racing!

To understand 'tyre wars', it's better to look back into the history and why the concept was scrapped in the first place. Simply put, the term 'tyre wars' just means that more than one manufacturer is being used in a racing category which was mainly through Daytona 200 and MotoGP and primarily prevalent in the 1970s through until the 2000s in Formula One. Each supplier like Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear would be constantly innovating the integrity and structure of their tyres, keeping them fast as well as durable and pushing them 'to the limit'. One prime example of intense battles included Damon Hill's Bridgestone tyres leaving Michael Schumacher's Goodyear tyres in the dust. However, note when I say 'push to the limit', as by the 2005 United States Grand Prix when Bridgestone and Michelin were at the forefront, the stretch to make ones tyres the best caused the race to only have a six-car start on the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Once the latter supplier left in 2006, Bridgestone was made the sole provider until 2010 when Pirelli took over and has had control since. And the FIA has never looked back.

Even worse with MotoGP, it was a problem of carrying a tyre on different bikes that weighed differently for competing teams. The important thing to note here is that there have been a larger amount of severe accidents in two-wheel racing than four-wheel; Motorsportmagazine.com detailed Barry Sheene's 1975 Daytona 200 crash, with him pulling the clutch making the bike go sideways. Due to a puncture in the process, the entire front wheel popped and left him with a broken leg along with other abrasive injuries after going over the handlebars, explaining how "he could feel all (his) skin coming off". Only decades after this race in 2009 did they switch primarily to Bridgestone with Michelin being the sole provider of tyres for MotoGP since 2016 and announced that they will continue until 2026.

Amongst other life-threatening crashes in motorbike racing, I'll be excluding them from this argument as it's imperative that their tyres go through an intense testing regime. After all, a four-wheel car running on three is a lot safer to stop than a two-wheel bike running on one in the grand scheme of racing.

What about 'under circumstances'?

The FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) have certainly been adding more regulations to racing in the last few years in order to take a "holistic approach" and "promote close racing and more balanced competition" (fia.com, 2021 Regulations). The idea of adding more tyre suppliers into motorsport could make the community wince, but what if this was done in a controlled environment? How? By reducing the risk of tyre damage, as seen in the Qatar 2023 Formula One Grand Prix, meaning that each manufacturer could come up with a design to make it sustainable for the entire race calendar. Maybe a few tweaks here and there to adjust to track temperatures, humidity, just like most teams edit a car during the year. However, this would mean that any suppliers will have to limit most of the design and innovation that was so widespread in their vast history in racing. After all, a great design in a tyre has a huge impact on the performance of the car.

Constantly used tyre blankets could become a thing of the past. This creates an entirely different argument in the case of the 'tyre war'. Some categories of racing like Formula Two and IndyCar have even banned the use of them, already proving that it creates more excitement by having to build up heat optimally in a wheel to generate grip, not too quickly as the surface is still brittle but not too slow in order to lose pace. Whether this comes to the discretion of a supplier or the amount of weekends, or days, a blanket could be used, it further extends the entire concept of a tyre strategy.

'Should we use a blanket on this weekend? Or will the weather give us a helping hand due to the track temperature?'

'Let's use the blankets on this day but this day, it looks like we could take the risk of dealing without.' Notice the word 'risk' in this context, most people will argue that this ensures for more entertaining racing.

Of course, lots of these conclusions can be linked back towards everything we've seen in the past of motorsport. In this history I see competitive racing; even 2009 Formula One World Champion, Jenson Button, agrees by stating that  "two manufacturers worked day and night to make better tyres, each of them trying to outdo the other" and flamboyantly added "it was awesome". Even Bridgestone engineer, Kees van der Grint agrees it would be "great for the sport" to add a bigger sense of unpredictability. He further adds that "...chassis designers can compete with each other, engine manufacturers can compete with each other, and why aren't tyre manufacturers allowed to compete with each other?” (autosport.com)

Arguments against bringing back 'tyre wars'

Many famous faces in motorsport all have their reasons on why 'tyre wars' are a bad idea. FE co-founder Alberto Longo plainly stated that the category "not interested in a tyre war", complaining that it would "take away the sporting equality" (autosport.com) which could ultimately give a team a 3 second time advantage.

It's also true to note that this would make a racing category even more expensive. Paying for more suppliers means paying more money towards paying for more rubber. Considering that lots of racing series like Formula One are driven more towards sustainability, it also would seem to be taking a step backwards as well as the amount of human hours put into it. Alan Gow, British Touring Car Championship boss, is another member who is opposed to this comeback. He explains how "it's fairer", improving the quality of the competition rather than finger-pointing between suppliers (we've all seen this sort of controversy float between any type of racing team before!)

Many different points about 'tyre wars' can be argued. Would there need to be a bigger focus on the safety of the sport by changing one of the most important components of the competitor? Would it be a money competition of who could 'throw the most' at a supplier? Nevertheless the clock starts now, with plenty of time to discuss the possibility of a big change in the lives of motorsport. A full three seasons to be exact in terms of the Formula series'.

But, could Pirelli handle Bridgestone once again in Formula One? Could Goodyear handle Michelin in British Touring Cars?