F1 Tire deal will go to ‘whoever pays the most cash’

How much are you willing to pay me to supply tires to F1? I can't hear you. You'll have to add more zeros.

As Michelin and Pirelli lock horns with the commercial rights holder of Formula One to negotiate a deal over the future of the official tire supplier, Christian Horner believes money speaks above all else.

“Well, I think what we’re basically saying is that whoever pays the most cash will sit here and say we love and think they should be the right supplier for Formula One." claimed the Red Bull Team Principal.

Horner raised concern over the future of the ‘spectacle of a Grand Prix’ should major changes be made to tire appearance, structure and behavior by saying:

“But I think it does go a bit beyond that.

“An 18 inch rim and a one stop is going to do nothing for the spectacle of a Grand Prix and I think actually we need to be looking at doing the opposite: getting two- to three-stop races, controlled degradation, maybe more choice for the teams in terms of the tires that they can take to Grands Prix, all the things that we’re talking about." he said.

As Grand Prix racing is slowly heading towards a more eco friendly approach with the use of hybrid power units, small allocations of resources and components, Horner appears to be of firm belief that Formula One cars should still be eating through its rubber. It’s quite clear Horner wants to see Pirelli stay in the sport, rather than Michelin return, with 18 inch rims and more durable tires. Interestingly when Red Bull and Horner first entered Formula One, it was Michelin who supplied the team in 2005 and 2006.

“I think Pirelli have done a good job since they’ve been involved in the sport, they’ve been supportive of Formula One through hard times as well as the good times." said Horner.

“And hopefully with the cars that are coming for 2017, that are going to be quite a bit different, quite a bit quicker, with tires that are significantly different to what we have now as well, then that represents a great challenge and hopefully Pirelli will be successful with that."