 Williams will make the change over to Bridgestone tyres next season |
Formula One team Williams are set to switch from Michelin to Bridgestone tyres at the end of the season. The Japanese manufacturer announced on Saturday it had entered a multi-year agreement with Williams.
Meanwhile, Michelin have threatened to pull out of F1 completely if plans for a single tyre manufacturer are forced through for the 2008 season.
The teams, manufacturers and the governing body, the FIA, are currently in discussions over idea.
At the moment, Michelin currently supplies seven of the 10 F1 teams while rival brand Bridgestone supplies world champions Ferrari and backmarker teams Jordan and Minardi. But in a news conference at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday, Michelin chief Eduardo Michelin warned: "We will withdraw from 2008 if there is a single tyre and before that, before 2007 maybe.
"We will consider the situation."
FIA president Max Mosley has been pushing for the introduction of a single tyre supplier as part of a new set of regulations to commence when the current Concorde Agreement expires in 2007.
An agreement on the new rules is expected by the end of the year and could prompt Michelin to end its involvement in the sport as soon as the end of 2006 if the single supplier proposals are voted in.
Michelin added: "The main argument which is presented in favour of control tyres is that competing tyre manufacturers increase the number of tests and therefore Formula One costs.
"But we have solutions to reduce costs without limiting competition."
Michelin argued that his company's work with rivals Pirelli in the World Rally Championship has proven that tyre manufacturers can compete openly while maintaining a controlled budget.
MMIX
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We will withdraw from 2008 if there is a single tyre