Australian GP: Michelin Saturday notes

Pierre Dupasquier, motorsport director

The weather continued to be very variable today. Have you learned much?
"Not really. When conditions change frequently as they have done here it is hard to make much progress. But we learned that our wet tyres work very well, although we have a little more work to do on the intermediates we tried yesterday. Ultimately qualifying turned out to be quite good for us. In the short dry period at the start of the session we saw that BMW WilliamsF1 Team, West McLaren-Mercedes and Mild Seven Renault F1 all looked strong."

Five of the top 10 cars are on Michelins. Is that particularly satisfying?
"It's OK, although some might say we should achieve at least that because we are supplying six of the 11 teams. It was quite an interesting qualifying battle. Ferrari is in a league of its own this weekend, but we are doing pretty well among the best of the rest."

What do you make of McLaren's performance in its first GP on Michelin tyres for 17 years?
"The team has done a very good job. We have done lots of work with McLaren on its 2001 car, not quite so much with the latest chassis. We will be working hard in the weeks ahead to optimise the way our tyres work on the 2002 McLaren."

Toyota, another of your new partners for 2002, is making its first-ever F1 race start this weekend. Have you been impressed with its progress so far?
"Yes. It is a very strong team and they have got through the first two days with no obvious technical problems. I think their midfield qualifying positions are a very good starting point on which to build for the future."

Mark Webber has impressed so far in his first GP for KL Minardi Asiatech. What do you make of his performance?
"He is a very quick, intelligent driver who listens to what he's told. He is one of many new elements at Minardi this season that could help the team to take a big step forward in the future."

Have you done enough dry running to know which tyre to use tomorrow if it doesn't rain?
"Yes -- but I'll say no more about that."

Finally, would you prefer wet or dry tomorrow?
"There are members of the team who would like to see it rain so that we can learn more about our wet tyres in a racing situation. At the moment, however, we have much more experience of racing in the dry so I'd prefer to see the clouds disappear."

-michelin-