By Michelin Sport
June 7 2005

With the Canadian GP coming up, Michelin's Director of F1 activities, Nick Shorrock, explains the regulations regarding tyres changes during the race. "The FIA regulations state that 'Unless a precautionary tyre change is necessary for clear and genuine safety reasons, only a punctured or damaged tyre may be changed during a race."

"With the regulations that are in place this year, whereby both the qualifying session and the race have to be undertaken with the same set of tyres, a certain number of measures were put into place to ensure that teams are not tempted to try to programme strategic tyre changes. For this reason the FIA carries out the necessary checks and maintains the right to judge the basis of any tyre changed. The FIA could for example impose a penalty if it saw fit."

"As for the tyre manufacturer, it is its responsibility to ensure it provides the appropriate product, taking fully into account all aspects of safety, and to provide the necessary advice on tyre use throughout the weekend. However, the ultimate decision as to the choice of strategy to be adopted remains entirely in the hands of each team's management."