Ferrari come clean over tyre tip-off

MOTOR sport chiefs yesterday confirmed that it was Ferrari which tipped them off over the tyre dispute which has rocked Formula One.

The FIA, the sport’s governing body, has moved to clarify its position over the width of Michelin’s front tyres in a dispute which could have a major bearing on the destination of the drivers’ crown. Ferrari, which uses Bridgestone tyres, believes Michelin-shod rivals Williams-BMW and McLaren-Mercedes have been gaining a performance advantage from the rubber.

“As Ferrari have confirmed it was they who pointed out to the FIA Technical Delegate (Charlie Whiting) that tyres which had a tread width of 270mm when new, appeared to be using a greater tread width when in use,” an FIA statement said.

“The tyres either comply or they do not. If used in Monza in combination with a car set-up which gives more than 270mm tread width, the stewards and, ultimately, the FIA Court of Appeal will have to decide if the rules have been broken.”

Ferrari alerted the sport’s governing body to the tyre issue after last month’s Hungarian Grand Prix when its driver Michael Schumacher saw his lead in the championship slashed to just one point with three races left. The German, who was lapped in the race by the Michelin-shod Renault of winner Fernando Alonso, leads Williams’s Juan Pablo Montoya with Kimi Raikkonen one point further back for McLaren. Both teams use Michelin tyres.

“It was us who told the FIA at the end of the race that their treads were too big, we are not going to accept losing this way anymore,” Ferrari’s technical director Ross Brawn said yesterday. “It all started in Budapest when Bridgestone got hold of some photos taken in the paddock. They showed in an unequivocal way that the front Michelin tyres had an excessively large tread at the end of the race or after being used.”

Michelin insist they have used legal tyres but after initially considering withdrawing from the race in Monza have been working on new tyres that will satisfy the regulations.

Meanwhile Ralph Firman is confident he will be fit for the Italian Grand Prix later this month despite suffering concussion in Hungary last month.

He suffered a heavy impact in a practice crash at the Hungaroring, bruising his ankle and suffering concussion after briefly being knocked out. He was forced to pull out of Jordan’s testing this week at Monza due to fears over his fitness, but the Formula One rookie is convinced he will be fit to take the wheel at the Italian Grand Prix.

Firman was replaced by Zsolt Baumgartner in Hungary and also for the Monza tests.

Ralf Schumacher has been sent home after being discharged from hospital following a heavy crash in testing at Monza yesterday.

He will return home to Salzburg to rest until next week. Williams will complete the rest of their testing session for the Italian Grand Prix with Spanish test driver Marc Gene.