Analysis: The Tyre War Heats Up

Michael Schumacher's victory in the Australian Grand Prix two weeks ago answered some questions about how well Ferrari's 'old' car might perform against its newer rivals.

The German won the first race of 2002 but the freakish nature of the contest, with eight of the 22 starters dumped out at the first corner and only eight finishers, left several issues unresolved.

Last year's F2001, favoured over the new car on grounds of reliability, was clearly good enough to hold its own against the latest Williams and McLaren in the cool conditions of Melbourne.

"The Ferrari is quicker than anything at the moment, by quite a margin," said Renault driver Jenson Button, whose Italian teammate Jarno Trulli was accused by the German of holding him up at Albert Park.

But, assuming it stays dry, it could be a different story in Malaysia's sweltering conditions on Sunday. The big question concerns tyres.

The imminent battle of Sepang has put the tyre war between Michelin and Bridgestone in the spotlight as a key pointer to what lies ahead for Schumacher and his Championship rivals. Michelin, who supply Williams and McLaren, 'lost' in Melbourne to Ferrari's Japanese suppliers but have a reputation for doing well in hot conditions and have innovations on stream.

Ferrari have won every Grand Prix in Malaysia since the first there in 1999 so it will be a significant step if Michelin turn the tables on Sunday. Michelin, who returned to Formula One only last season, are expected to do far better in the hottest race of the year. If not, there could be some pretty long faces.

Emotional Highs

The fans inevitably remember the personalities and emotional highlights - Schumacher triumphant, his brother Ralf flying through the air in his shattered Williams and Mark Webber an heroic fifth for Minardi. But the performance of the tyres - dull, black and the one brand almost indistinguishable from the other - dictated the race in Melbourne.

Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya of Williams commented afterwards that as soon as Schumacher's warmed up he simply went "around the outside like I was parked there and then just drove into the distance."

Asked on Thursday what percentage of his victory at Albert Park he felt was down to himself, the car or the tyre, Schumacher barely hesitated: "In the end you will always find a combination. But the biggest factor if I may say was the Bridgestone tyre for sure. I'm pretty confident on that.

"The Bridgestone was a more consistent and better tyre for the whole race," said Schumacher of Melbourne. "Whether this is going to be the same here is an open question. We're going to find out. We saw last year from Australia to here quite a bit of a change in terms of competitiveness.

"If we are going to see the same, I don't know. I think it's going to be a good competition but how tight or not tight it is going to be I have no clue at all."

Teammate Rubens Barrichello agreed.

"The biggest percentage was down to the tyres in Melbourne, so the situation right now remains to be seen. In Malaysia we know it's hot, we know Michelin has done quite well here last year.

"We just need to see. I'm as curious as you to get in a car on the track and see if I have an advantage, if we are behind. It will be a challenge. I don't think it will be the difference we saw in Melbourne. I think it's going to be much closer."