Ecclestone Thinks Fast Wearing Tires Make for Better Racing

Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone apparently didn’t get his way when the series chose Pirelli over other tire contenders.

But now he thinks faster wearing tires will make for more exciting racing for a series in which passing of any kind is nearly non-existent.

Ecclestone told Gazzetta dello Sport that he thinks F1 tires should last no more than 100 kilometers, forcing teams into at least two pitstops. “People want more overtaking," Ecclestone said. “I have a proposal: tire sets that can be used for a maximum of 100 kilometers, with the one used in qualifying to be used in the first part of the race. This way we’d have more tire changes at different times and there would be more confusion. The best races are the messy ones.”

Ecclestone failed to mention that F1 eliminated fuel stops from its events, eliminating as many as two pitstops per race.

While Ecclestone previously voiced his preference for Cooper Avon over Pirelli and Michelin, he also revealed to Gazzetta dello Sport that Hankook and Continental had also been involved, at least at the inquiry stage, in the tire competition.

“With a phone call before Christmas; Michelin had already got in touch then, and I had also contacted Avon and the other big manufacturers,” he said. “In the end five were left: the ones I mentioned, plus Hankook and Continental. All of them liked F1 but none could enter in 2011. The choice has fallen on Pirelli.”

Ecclestone stated that each F1 team will pay 1.35 million euros per year for Pirelli race tires.

Ascot Supply Corporation, based in Newnan, Georgia, has selected Mark Paquette for the newly created position of vice president. In this position, Ascot Supply said Paquette will oversee the growth of the company's products, corporate profitability, manage marketing and advertising and assume many other responsibilities.

He will work under the direction of current President David Kessler and officially begin his new role on June 3. Paquette joined the tire and automotive industry in the early 1980s at his father's tire shop, and his contributions to Mohawk Rubber Sales were instrumental in the company's growth and eventual sale to Myers Tire Supply in 2021, according to Ascot Supply. Paquette eventually was given a promotion to the role of director of operations at Myers Tire Supply.