Important Dates for Michelin

By Michelin Press Release
March 3 2003

 

 

  
Important Dates for Michelin
 
1977 • Legend of the yellow teapot • July 17 is still engrained in the memory: in partnership with Renault, Michelin makes its F1 debut in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Britain's specialist constructors smile at Jean-Pierre Jabouille's RS01, but radial tyres and turbocharged engines will soon be de rigueur on the starting grid.

1978 • "El lole" breaks Michelin’s duck • Six months after Michelin's F1 debut, Carlos Reutemann (Ferrari) scores the company's first win in the Brazilian Grand Prix at Jacarepagua, Rio. Two months later the Argentine idol notches up Michelin's first F1 pole position in the US GP West at Long Beach

1979 • Michelin’s double title triumph • Michelin completes the set. Jody Scheckter (Ferrari) is world champion driver and his team wins the title for constructors. To top it all off, Michelin scores its first 1-2-3 F1 finish in the French GP, where Jean-Pierre Jabouille gives the Renault turbo engine its maiden win.

1980 • The years roll on… and no two look the same • Renault scores 3 victories but this time Michelin has no others to add to its tally.

1981 • 13 wins = fight back • Michelin ends up supplying the whole grand prix field for 7 races. There are 15 events in all and Michelin wins 13.

1982 • Close, but... • Michelin captures 11 pole positions and 8 wins, but even that is not enough to secure any new F1 titles. Running on Michelins, McLaren driver John Watson finishes as world championship runner-up.

1983 • Another title in the bag • Nelson Piquet (Brabham/Michelin) just pips Alain Prost (Renault/Michelin) to bring another world championship for drivers to Clermont-Ferrand. Michelin racks up 9 wins in all thanks to Piquet (3), Prost (4), John Watson (McLaren, 1) and Riccardo Patrese (Brabham, 1).

1984 • 59 wins in 112 grands prix • 14 wins from 16 GPs contested – stop - Niki Lauda (McLaren) crowned world champion driver – stop – McLaren picks up constructors' title – stop - Michelin decides to withdraw after proving the worth of its radial technology at the pinnacle of motor racing.

2000 • Michelin, the comeback • Michelin returns to F1. The news is announced in December 1999. Throughout 2000, Michelin test drivers Tom Kristensen and Jörg Müller evaluate more than 3,000 tyres and cover more than 10,000 km – or about 20 grand prix distances – at a number of different circuits.

2001 • Mission accomplished • Michelin didn't set itself the easiest of tasks by committing to the highest-profile motor sport of them all. It worked with a number of particularly determined partners in the form of the BMW WilliamsF1 Team, Renault Sport, Jaguar Racing, Prost-Acer and European Minardi, but it neither knew the circuits nor their particular idiosyncrasies. At the end of a long season, however, those who proposed such an endeavour were able to breathe a sigh of relief: Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya (BMW WilliamsF1 Team) shared four wins, four pole positions and a number of fastest race laps.

2002 • F1 is hardly an easy career choice. Juan Pablo Montoya racked up seven pole positions last year and is widely regarded as the number one threat to Ferrari... but he still only has a single win to his name. Technically speaking, Michelin has made great strides forward and enters the 203 season in a positive frame of mind.
 
 
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