Guenther Steiner expects Formula 1 will come under fire from “a lot of questions” if it goes in a different direction for the tyre supplier. While Pirelli is firmly one of the front-runners to continue its existing contract, Bridgestone has also submitted a technical proposal to the FIA. The Japanese tyre-maker was last on the F1 grid in 2010, when the product was significantly different to the current tyres which are designed to create multiple strategy options for teams. Bridgestone has yet to test its proposed product on a current specification car, while Pirelli has had the luxury of in-season tests. Steiner believes this will be a factor in the tender process when speaking to media, including RacingNews365 : "If a new tyre supplier comes there are some difficulties there,” he said. "They're very technically challenging to make and if you start with not having done F1 for a long time, like one of the suppliers hasn’t, how do you go through a test programme? "The only way to test these tyres, really, is on a current F1 car with the downforce we have got right now."
Steiner: Teams will complain
If F1 does decided to go down the Bridgestone route, there will need to be a lot of testing before they can run them on track in a race scenario. This has become a subject of debate among teams, as they wonder who will carry out the tests and the advantages that could be gained. "I don't know how these problems have been addressed in the tender," added Steiner. "There are a lot of questions [to be] asked, because the big teams will volunteer to do this testing. But then the other big teams will complain that the other ones get an advantage. It's a spiral. "I think in my opinion, we wait until it is decided who is getting the tyre contract for the next years and then we see if you have got a problem or not. But I think it will not be easy if there is a new one."
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