Testing new tyres no concern says McLaren

Teams will get to run with the tweaked rear tyres in Friday practice only in Montreal.

Pirelli had originally hoped to use the new rubber for the whole weekend, but now intends to evaluate the tyres in Montreal with a view to introducing them from the British Grand Prix onwards.

Despite the limited timeframe, Michael says McLaren will not be at pains to combine an evaluation of the new tyres with its own upgrade evaluations.

"That all fits in quite seamlessly, to be honest," Michael told a Vodafone phone-in.

"If you look on average for the first races, the first 30-45 minutes of sessions teams don't use very heavily anyway, because you're saving tyres waiting for the track to clean up.

"Normally you'd definitely be doing that on the Montreal circuit because it's not used that often, so it ramps up quite a lot.

"You have a slightly wider range for aero tests - you can actually continue them in P3, [which] we have done a few times [even if] you're really trying to gear up for qualifying.

"But we'll fit [tyre and upgrade testing] in no problem at all.

"It will be interesting to run them [the new tyres]. Teams will be checking things like tyre wear, how the temperature profile and tread changes, and obviously also if there's aerodynamic changes."

Michael said McLaren would bring 'small steps' of upgrades rather than a comprehensive package in a bid to continue its gradual recent improvements.

"Our upgrades are more parts we are putting on to investigate different things, small steps in the right direction," Michael said.

"The last few have worked, and as long as we keep doing that we will gradually keep moving towards the front.

"The car is getting better; it's still not as fast as we hoped, but it is still moving in the right direction."