DECEMBER 8, 1997

McLaren jumps to Bridgestone

AS we suggested last week the announcement that Goodyear is to pull out of Grand Prix racing at the end of 1998 has led teams to consider jumping to Bridgestone and last week McLaren led the way, terminating its agreement with Goodyear and beginning work with Bridgestone in Spain on Wednesday.

McLaren had a contract with Goodyear until the end of 1999 but decided to make the move because it "represents the optimum way forward for the team".

McLaren added that it wished to record "its sincere appreciation" to Goodyear for the support and cooperation over the last 13 years. According to our sources this appreciation was not marked by any direct contact with Goodyear Racing, which found out about the switch from the McLaren press release.

Goodyear is not expected to react legally and it remains to be seen whether other teams will now follow suit.