Schumacher faces wrath of Bridgestone

Bridgestone bosses are still smarting at the world champion's claims that his tyres were breaking up at the end of the last race in Barcelona, Spain. An exhaustive examination of the tyres after they were freighted back to Japan proved they were undamaged.

The German fell 40-seconds behind Mika Hakkinen because of the vibration problems and only won because the Finn's clutch exploded on the final lap. After his fortuitous victory put him back at the top of the world championship, Schumacher blamed delaminating rear tyres for dropping behind the McLaren-Mercedes, a suggestion that Bridgestone vehemently denies.

"As we always do when there has been a problem, we send the tyres back to Japan," said a Bridgestone spokesman. "There was nothing wrong with the tyres and there certainly wasn't any delamination."

"We have checked our data, concerning the wheel [both the tyre and rim] and the balancing before the race, and everything was correct. But after the race, they were off balance. Something happened in-between, but we don't know exactly what."

Italian newspapers, meanwhile, say that Ferrari is trying to cure suspension and brake problems aggravated by the return of traction control.

Schumacher retired from the race in Imola with suspension troubles, and claimed the parts at fault in Spain and Italy were different. Ferrari does admit, however, that the reason for Rubens Barrichello's retirement in Spain was due to a torsion bar breakage in the rear suspension.