Michelin ditches Formula One

Michelin is ending its involvement with Formula One racing after the 2006 season following a decision by the organising body to prefer only one tyre supplier, the French group said yesterday. This leaves Bridgestone of Japan as the single supplier.

"This decision is the result of the realisation that there is profound disagreement between the sport's philosophy that has always been driving Michelin and the management practices of the F1 authorities," said the head of the company, Edouard Michelin.

Michelin supplies seven of the 10 Formula One teams and Bridgestone the rest. In 2006 they will have an equal split as Williams and Toyota are leaving Michelin. The tyre maker clashed with the FIA, the sport's governing body over the US Grand Prix fiasco in June when its seven teams failed to start due to tyre safety concerns at Indianapolis. Michelin said it could return if the rules were changed "profoundly".

* Vodafone is switching its Formula One sponsorship from Ferrari to McLaren in 2007.

iBet: A tight game between Northampton and Bradford

A tight game could be in prospect here. Northampton have been keeping things very tight of late and ...

by Gareth Purnell

18 May 2013 02:01 AM

On The Road at the Giro d’Italia: Feeling ill and racing in the rain must be pretty grim

I can’t ever watch games of football or rugby without wistfully wondering what it must be like to be...

by Martin Ayres

16 May 2013 05:10 PM

PSG and the French league must be more proactive in dealing with hooliganism

Since PSG’s exit to Barcelona in the Uefa Champions League quarter-final in April, PSG have been sur...

by Matthew Riding

15 May 2013 02:37 PM

Most Viewed
Most Shared
Most Commented

Get your summer started with British Military Fitness

BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes

Visit York Prizes & offers Business videos

Visit York

Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world

Military Fitness Prizes & offers Business videos

Enter the latest Independent competitions

Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.

Military Fitness Visit York Business videos

Business videos from commercial thought leaders

Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.

Military Fitness Visit York Prizes & offers

Recruiters

The price of pacifism

From the Second World War refusenik to the 19-year-old Israeli, Holly Williams talks to five people who risked shame and suffering to take a stand as conscientious objector.

'It was mass hysteria': Jason Isaacs on groupies, theatre bores and snogging James Bond

Jason Isaacs: Groupies, theatre bores and James Bond

To millions, Jason Isaacs is one of Harry Potter's arch enemies – but his wife prefers him as a Scottish TV detective.

Notes from a small island: Is Sealand an independent 'micronation' or an illegal fortress?

Sealand: 'Micronation' or illegal fortress?

Thomas Hodgkinson spent a week at the tiny platform off the Suffolk coast to find out.

Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

If you ignore cutlets and ribs, you'll risk missing out on some delicious and easy meals, says our chef.

The experts' guide to summer

From getting fit for the beach to recreating that Olympic buzz

Legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing

Early glimpses of Ron Howard's film Rush suggest it will portray Hunt as a high-living lothario, with an insatiable appetite for partying.

Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation'

The next Vanilla Ice or the next Eminem? Macklemore doesn't have a record contract – but he does have the UK's biggest-selling single of the year.

Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes

Sri Lankan cuisine is light, sunny, wonderfully spiced – and so easy to cook from scratch. Just as soon as you've broken into the coconut, that is.

Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Doctors are hailing the revamp of a Bath neonatal unit, where babies sleep more and feed better, as the model for patient care

One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

Epecuen was submerged under 10 metres of water in 1985. Now the floods have gone – and 83-year-old Pablo Novak has moved back in

The real thing?

Historian publishes Coca Cola's 'secret formula'

Gordon Ramsey's worst nightmare: A restaurant he cannot save

Gordon Ramsay's worst nightmare: A restaurant he cannot save

The pugnacious chef finally met a shambolic restaurant he couldn't save. John Walsh on when TV makover refuseniks fight back

Join Ryanair! See the world! But we're only paying you for nine months a year

Glamorous myth of the flight attendant lifestyle undermined by angry employee's claims of 'exploitation'

Braising saddles: Did the recent furore scupper sales of horse meat? Neigh, far from it!

Braising saddles: How to cook horse meat

Did the recent furore scupper sales of horse meat? Neigh, far from it! Will Coldwell hoofs it to the kitchen.

Why bitters are back on the bar

A few little drops pack a big punch in cocktails. No wonder we're learning to love them again...