Fernando Alonso’s $25,000,000,000 Worth Former Ally Looks for a Conditional Return as F1 Mulls Over Reviving Old System

For the first in almost a decade, Fernando Alonso is driving a competitive enough that can challenge the front runners. The ambitious Spaniard is back where he wanted to be when he rejoined the sport. Alonso has the car, the team, and the spirit to achieve the ultimate dream again. Although there is one aspect of his 2005/06 championship-winning formula that is still missing. Alonso is missing his 25 billion dollar ally, which allowed him to push his car to the limit. However, as things stand, this ally might be back to F1 only under one condition.

The Spaniard ally back in 2005/06 was Michelin. The $25 billion tire manufacturers are plotting a return to the circus after a long absence. Pirelli is the current sole tire supplier to F1 and the feeder series. However, the current contract is set to expire in 2024, with multiple companies fighting for the privilege. Michel Schumacher’s ally, Bridgestone is also putting its hat in the mix to secure the contract. Michelin will reluctantly enter the rat race on one condition, as revealed by CEO Florent Menegaux during his conversation with The Drive.

The CEO believes the sport is reliant on tire degradation for additional drama and to add an element of excitement during the races. This is something the Menegaux does not appreciate.

“The question is, how do we leverage technology to have a good show? And that’s where F1 comes into play, because we have been discussing with them for a very long time—and we are not in agreement,” said Menegaux. “Because they [F1] say to have the show, you have to have tires that destroy themselves. And I think, we [Michelin] don’t know how to do this. So, we cannot agree.”

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This accusation from the Michelin CEO hints that F1 manufactures scenarios to fuel excitement. In fact, this isn’t the first entities are accusing the sport of cooking scenarios for the sake of putting on a show.

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez accuse F1 of introducing unnecessary rules for the sake of excitement

Perhaps, the American owners are not happy with the qualifying sessions, probably why sprint qualifying has become a part of the sport. In a bid to add more excitement to the sessions, the sport flirted with the idea of specific tire usage during the qualifying sessions. The idea suggested, the teams will only be allowed to use hard compounds in Q1, mediums in Q2, and soft slicks for Q3.

Both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez did not appreciate this suggestion.

Verstappen said, “I don’t think we need to actually do these kinds of things in qualifying. I don’t really see the benefit of it. It’s better if we make sure that all the cars are close to each other and more competitive, instead of spicing things up in that way, which I think is yeah, probably for the show.”

Perez seconded Verstappen’s comments and said, “Yeah, I just think it’s for the show, I think we don’t need that. When you see the qualifying we had [in Bahrain], how close everything was, you don’t really need to change anything.”

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We are not sure if the need for tire degradation is true or if the sport is actually manufacturing scenarios to add to the excitement. However, these possible changes and comments from the Michelin CEO are definitely concerning.