DECEMBER 22, 1997

Michelin denies saying no

MICHELIN admitted last week that it is considering an involvement in Formula 1 but that no decision has yet been taken.

MICHELIN admitted last week that it is considering an involvement in Formula 1 but that no decision has yet been taken. The announcement followed speculation in the French media that a decision had been taken not to enter F1 in 1999. "Nothing is yet decided," said a Michelin spokesman. "We are still thinking about it, because it is not an easy decision. We will make our decision at a given moment and when our decision is taken we will announce it - whether it is positive or negative."

While it may seem very late in the day to be considering entering F1 in 1999, there have been hints that Michelin has been working on an F1 program since 1995 when a secret research group was set up at Clermont-Ferrand.

Michelin has been out of F1 since the end of 1984 but in the seven and half seasons prior to that scored 59 GP wins.