Brawn Confident Bridgestone will be Strong in Malaysia

Ferrari's technical director Ross Brawn is confident the team's Bridgestone tyres will perform strongly in the hot conditions of the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The Bridgestone-shod Ferraris dominated last Sunday's Australian Grand Prix, in cooler weather conditions that benefited the red cars. World Champion Michael Schumacher won the race from teammate Rubens Barrichello, finishing over half a minute ahead of the Michelin-tyred Renault of Fernando Alonso.

Ferrari's rivals were optimistic their Michelin tyres will help them raise their game in the heat of Malaysia, but Brawn said Bridgestone have worked hard to improve their rubber in hot conditions.

"We will soon see new developments with our collaboration with Bridgestone, concerning tyres suitable for high temperatures. They worked well," Brawn told Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper. "Let's not forget that last year they won nine races out of 17.

"In the last few months they carried out an obscure job that will be highlighted in the next races. I'm happy about our partnership with them."

Brawn, however, admitted the conditions in Melbourne have benefitted his team, and warned tougher times would come later this season.

"We found perfect conditions temperature-wise, and other factors that helped us. But harder times will come through the season," Brawn added. "We won't be able to be the best as a car or as tyres in every GP, but we want to be the best in the majority of the races."

Despite Ferrari's dominance during the whole weekend, Michelin boss Pierre Dupasquier felt the French manufacturer had made progress compared to last year.

"We need to analyse the situation with a cool head, without letting the emotions of the moment take over," Dupasquier said. "Then we'll discover that last year Ferrari's dominance was even greater and they probably would have won the race if the weather conditions were stable.

"All in all we have undoubtedly made progress on this track, compared to previous years."