If Christian Horner was in charge of selecting F1’s new tyre supplier for 2011, he would sign up Pirelli.
It is believed the Italian company is on the verge of a deal to replace the departing Bridgestone, but some powerful elements are pushing to keep Michelin’s rival proposal on the table.
Pirelli is understood to have inked contracts with F1’s commercial rights holder some days ago, and the company’s competition director Paul Hembery was in Montreal last weekend for meetings with the teams association FOTA.
The final hurdle could be the consent of the FIA, as Red Bull team boss Horner is quoted as saying: "Hopefully it can be a collective consensus of opinion.
"I think the Pirelli deal that seems to be on the table looks to be commercially and practically very attractive and that seems to be the consensus of the majority of teams," the Briton is quoted by Sapa-AFP news agencies.