F1 News

Hakkinen suggests second tyre supplier

Hakkinen suggests second tyre supplier

14-10-2018 13:43

Is that what would make F1 more interesting? Another tyre supplier? F1 double champion Mika Hakkinen thinks it would, claiming that the variation will make the sport more “exciting” than it is currently.

2006 was the most recent year F1 had split tyre suppliers, when Bridgestone and Michelin were both suppliers for F1. Since then, Bridgestone spent four years as the sole supplier before Italian manufacturer Pirelli took over.

Pirelli have supplied every F1 team with tyres for eight seasons including 2018 and have a contract to continue doing so for some time.

Could F1 benefit from more than one supplier? Hakkinen thinks so. He told Autosport: “There is no competition - there should be other manufacturers out there, that way the competition comes up. When I speak to the drivers I have understood the tyres go on a certain peak and if you push even a little further they just overheat.

It’s not a criticism of what Pirelli’s doing, it’s just a fact that there should be competition. If you only have one driver driving out there it’s the same thing. We need competition. That’s exciting.”