Ex-Formula 1 race winner David Coulthard has proposed that reintroducing multiple tyre suppliers would liven up the competition and halt Red Bull’s current dominance.
Red Bull has crushed the opposition since F1’s return to ground effect machinery in 2022, winning 39 of the 44 previous races to wrap up consecutive championship doubles.
The Milton-Keynes-based squad prevailed in all but one round last season, with Max Verstappen capitalising to achieving a record-breaking 19 victories and 575 points.
Having ceased development on the all-conquering RB19 with many rounds to spare, Red Bull is tipped to retain its advantage over the rest of the grid in the upcoming season.
However, Coulthard, who concluded his F1 career with Red Bull in 2008, believes that a contest between two tyre manufacturers would create a more enthralling spectacle.
“I don’t think there’s a desire right now to have a tyre competition, but I think it would be better,” he said on the Formula for Success podcast.
“Sometimes it would be Pirelli that had the right tyre for the circuit and sometimes, let’s say for argument’s sake, it was Bridgestone would have the right tyre.
“You would naturally have this competitive shift circuit to circuit based on the only thing that touches the ground, which is the tyres.”
F1 had separate tyre providers between 2001-2006 when Bridgestone and Michelin were prominent fixtures, but the former took on exclusive rights from the 2007 season.
Pirelli has been F1’s sole tyre supplier since 2011 and it was confirmed last year that the Italian manufacturer had won the tender process for the period covering up to 2027.
Former eponymous F1 team owner Eddie Jordan was cautious about Coulthard’s suggestion amid his concern over the financial ramifications that would transpire.
“I don’t know how you would get the competition in there without having the free fall of the big money,” Jordan queried.
Meanwhile, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali insisted that the prospect of a return to a tyre war in the sport would only be entertained if it was proven that costs could be reduced.
“I think that as you know that point was tackled together with the FIA to make sure that we were able to control the cost of the ecosystem of Formula 1,” he explained.
“That was the main reason when we moved from the tyre competition where we had a lot of testing, a lot of mileage, and a lot of research that was really beneficial, but the cost was really massive, that was the reason we moved from that direction to the new situation.
“It is too premature to consider that this could be a possibility for the future but in terms of the actual situation where the cost control is very relevant I would say we haven’t decided for sure but it is not yet on the agenda to see if this could be a possibility in the future.
“But it is a point of relevancy because in the future if we are able to control the different mechanisms of the cost, why not?
“But so far it is not on the agenda or discussions together with the FIA or teams.”
