Bahrain test useful to Bridgestone

Although the new 2007 rubber has proved problem-free during early evaluation at Barcelona and Jerez, the Japanese tyre manufacturer wants to be 100 percent sure about its durability and performance before they make their final selection for the year.

Bridgestone will only produce four different types of tyres for the campaign, with only two of those options having been evaluated so far.

The choice about the other two compounds, believed to be on the softer end of the scale, will only be made after it has become clear how the current tyres operate in the warmer temperatures of Bahrain.

"The key will be the Bahrain test," Bridgestone's joint technical manager Jun Matsuzaki told autosport.com in Jerez this week. "I think we should wait until we go to a venue where the ambient temperature is higher than here to decide on the final compounds.

"At the moment the track temperature is 24-25C here in Jerez and we would like to see how the tyres behave when the temperature range is between 35C and 40C."

Although the final decision will be made after Bahrain, Matsuzaki has confirmed that the current two compounds that have been tested so far will be used for the first three races of the season - unless there are unforeseen problems in pre-season testing.

The softer compounds that will be decided on after Bahrain will likely make their first appearance at the Monaco Grand Prix in May.