Bridgestone form 'ominous'

As Michelin boss Pierre Dupasquier feared pre-season, Schumacher's closest challengers in Malaysia were Williams and BAR, whereas Renault had been second best team in the Melbourne season opener. It means that as well as facing Schumacher and Bridgestone's pace, the Michelin teams look like having to share out strong finishes between them.

Bridgestone technical manager Hisao Suganuma said: "There is no doubt that this week was a turning point - our rivals can expect us to be strong this year even if we have a scorching European summer."

Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn added: "Being able to win here means more than the win in Australia. I think Bridgestone has done a fantastic job. When you think back to our performance in previous years, then really this win is down to them. We have a tough year ahead of us but it was great to win in these conditions."

Michael Schumacher was a little more cautious: "This is one of the races where we struggled in the past," he said. "I don't know whether you can translate it and compare it to last year or not. I would like to see it that way but I may have my doubts about that."

Taking a balanced perspective, however, Schumacher did set pole position and fastest lap after his first corner incident in Malaysia last year, despite Kimi Raikkonen making it a Michelin win for the second successive year and Bridgestone having some durability issues. Brawn says that Ferrari still has some concerns at circuits like Hockenheim and Hungary, where the surface demands a higher proportion of chemical rather than mechanical grip from the tyres.