Michelin Not Getting Carried Away

Michelin boss Pierre Dupasquier played down the performance of their partner teams in today's free practice for the Belgian Grand Prix.

Ten out of the 12 fastest cars in today's session were using tyres from the French manufacturer, with only the Ferrari of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello breaking Michelin's stronghold. McLaren drivers Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard topped the times, while Schumacher and Barrichello were third and fourth respectively.

Despite their dominance, however, Dupasquier refused to get carried away and said that today's times are not relevant.

"I am happy with the way our two dry-weather tyres have performed, because they fulfilled our expectations," said Dupasquier. "One thing I would say, however, is that we always maintain the same point of view on a Friday: it doesn't matter whether our cars are fastest or not.

"We are fully aware that what happens does not necessarily have any significance in relation to what the result will be on Sunday because teams have not been running with identical fuel loads when they set their best times today."