Motor racing-Pirelli, Michelin only bidders for F1 tyre contract

Current suppliers Pirelli have tendered for the next three-year Formula One tyre contract from 2017 with Michelin their only rivals, Pirelli's motorsport head Paul Hembery said on Friday.

"We did tender, yes, and there are two people that tendered," the Briton told reporters ahead of Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix.

"There are definitely only two bidders."

French tyre maker Michelin said this week they had tendered by the June 17 deadline but dependent on the sport switching to bigger and more durable 18-inch tyres.

The current wheel diameter is 13 inch but the FIA tender document said "this should not preclude an increase in diameter if the tyre manufacturer feels there may be advantages to the competitors by doing so."

Hembery said Pirelli's tender was in accordance with the current rules, although the Italian company was open to any suggestion.

"The rules say it's the current size and in 2017... it would be like an engine manufacturer turning up and saying they will only come if they can have a 2.5 litre V8 when the rules say it's a 1.6 litre V6 turbo," he said of the Michelin bid.

"We can only supply what the rules say you can supply. Our bid is to follow the rules."

Formula One is working on rule changes for 2017 to make cars quicker, lighter and more aggressive and one of the proposals is for wider rear tyres.

Michelin withdrew from Formula One in 2006, a year after a farcical U.S. Grand Prix that went ahead with only six cars after all the Michelin-equipped teams pulled out on safety grounds.

The sport has had a sole supplier since then, with Bridgestone replaced by Pirelli in 2011. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Pritha Sarkar)