Speed TV is reporting that discussions are taking place betweem tire supplier Bridgestone, the FIA and the eleven Formula One teams about the possible introduction of the “option tire” program that has been used in Champ Car for the last two seasons.

The option program means that Bridgestone (who will be F1’s monoply tire supplier from 2007 onwards) will bering two different compunds to the race  - one hard and one soft (usually marked with a red sidewall) - and that the teams must use both types during the race. This adds an element of strategy back into the team setups which would have been missing with a de-facto control tire.

Personally I think it’s a good idea, and would welcome it, but I think that F1 and the FIA need to focus a little more on car design to allow the cars to run closer together - if the other open-wheel series can get cars to run side-by-side (IRL) of nose to tail (GP2) then I’m sure that the “premier series” could learn a thing or two from them.

The fact that this tire option proposal is coming out of Champ Car, a series often derided by the F1 paddock, could be the first sign of a little common sense beraking out in the rarified air of Grand Prix racing.