San Marino Preview Quotes: Michelin

"All this work resulted in some fresh constructions and compounds that were tailor- made for the latest regulations. I'm not sure that people appreciated the full extent of our labours: we weren't simply creating tyres that maintained strong, consistent performance over a full race distance - they also had to be compatible with chassis that had been significantly altered in terms of aerodynamic downforce.

"Our development programme benefited a great deal from work we conducted in parallel with our seven partner teams, which allowed us to analyse and compare all their feedback. Furthermore, our strenuous preparations helped to broaden our research team's field of expertise.

"The rule that permits tyre companies to compete against each other in Formula One drives our constant quest to come up with new ideas, to develop them and to remain ahead of the competition. It also creates a valuable baseline that enables us to assess the quality of our work. Michelin applies the same competitive philosophy to every motorsport discipline in which it competes. In addition to our recent F1 successes, last weekend's victories in the New Zealand round of the World Rally Championship and the MotoGP season-opener at Jerez have given us added cause for satisfaction.

"For this weekend's race at Imola, which marks F1's return to Europe, we have taken into account the frequently fierce braking and the aggressive approach drivers tend to take with the kerbs. We also had to bear in mind the track's distinctive characteristics, because the surface isn't uniform around the lap's full length. The tyres specifications we have selected have been developed with the aforementioned factors in mind. They are all new and they have not been used this season."