Max Mosley has said that unless the new 2009 aerodynamic rules cut cornering speeds in the sport, the return to slick tyres will be abandoned.
Slick tyres are on the cards for 2009, along with a whole new raft of rules including the banning of tyre-warmers and rules that should cut downforce. However Mosley has made it clear that if the 2009 rules do not make the cars significantly slower, then grooved tyres will remain in the sport.
“The theory is: much less downforce and more mechanical grip should improve the racing and overtaking,†Mosley said in an interview with Autosport. “If it turns out that the promised reduction in downforce hasn’t happened and the cornering speeds go up, we’ll just put the grooves back in.
“We don’t want to do that, but sometimes we’ve been promised by the aerodynamicists a 50 percent reduction in downforce and it doesn’t materialize. Then the speeds rocket up again. We’ve got the answer if we have to.”
