As rumors indicate that Jean Todt is lobbying a change in tyre supplier, this might even help with a final decision. Pirelli had already messed up enough with providing an unfair advantage for Mercedes. It's understood that they need testing to develop a proper tyre, but the way it was decided by all the teams to provide them with a 2010 Renault car, and as it was also extended with Ferrari's 2011 car ran by client department with a test driver de la Rosa (which was also quite questionable due to 'secrecy'), was a quite reasonable approach. Maybe it was a subject for further negotiations with the teams (with a bit more transparency between all of them, maybe involving FIA) to run further testing, using other teams cars and test drivers and engineers, not involved in development current and future cars. What were they thinking running tests with Mercedes using current car and drivers? First, they said they tested prototype tyres for suggested 2013 season tyre upgrade, then, as the conflict escalated, they've switched to the version they tested 2014 tyres. Anyway, that's unfair to provide Mercedes with both - an advantage for this year, and maybe even worse, giving them information on 2014 tyres way ahead of prototype tyre testing available for other teams. As they speculate that they need more information on 2014 season regulations to provide a decent tyre, what relevance on this could be given by testing the current car?
Yes, it might be a tough challenge for a new supplier to step in as there isn't much time at all, but remembering the situation when Pirelli signed their contract, the time frames were even tighter.
Edited by screamer76, 08 June 2013 - 12:28.