Pirelli Motorsport Dir Paul Hembery said that F1 should "make a 'huge jump'" in tire size and not get fixated on proposals for 18-inch wheels, according to Ian Parkes of AUTOSPORT. With Pirelli and Michelin "going head-to-head" for F1's new tire-supply contract from '17, a "battle is on to convince the FIA which firm has the right technical and sporting approach for the future." Michelin has "joined the push for 18-inch wheel rims, but despite showcasing such a design on a GP2 car ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix in May, Pirelli has reservations over that concept." Hembery said, "To be honest the only appetite for going to 18, or something else, has come from external factors. The teams are actually very consistent by saying they want to stay with 13. ... In reality, if you want to do something dramatic, you'd sit on 19 at least, but probably 20 or 21 because that's where the top-end [road] cars are these days. ... The majority of our circuit racing is done on 18-inch tires already, so 18 isn't that unique." There is a greater consensus over the width of the tires themselves, with a proposal for switching from the current 375mm width to 420, a tire last seen on a F1 car in '92, for the '17 season. Hembery: "Even the 18-inch we ran in Monaco looked different rather than 'wow,' but the wider tires do have that wow factor" (AUTOSPORT, 6/29).
