Michelin Officials 'Satisfied' with First Official Testing

Michelin completed its first 'official' Formula One test at the Jerez circuit in Spain, in preparation for its entry into the sport in March, 2001. Three teams and eight cars ran on the French manufacturer's tyres over the three days of testing, held in a mixture of dry, wet and blustery conditions. At the end of the session, Michelin's competition's Director Pierre Dupasquier announced himself 'satisfied' with this early test.

Michelin ran with the following teams at Jerez: BMW WilliamsF1 Team, Jaguar-Racing and Benetton Powered by Renault Sport. The former were piloted by Ralf Schumacher, newcomer Juan-Pablo Montoya and new test driver Marc Gene; Jaguar-Racing was represented by regular driver Eddie Irvine, Luciano Burti and Tomas Scheckter, while Benetton Powered by Renault Sport had its race drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Jenson Button on hand for this first test together.

Each of Michelin's teams had dedicated one car to tyre testing, giving the company the chance to work through a series of tests. Despite nine F1 teams being present at Jerez, the fact that they were all testing a number of different options of aerodynamics, engine and drive-train specifications, using varying fuel loads, made genuine time comparisons relatively worthless. However, Ralf Schumacher (BMW WilliamsF1 Team) summed up the session, saying: "I'm surprised by Michelin. They are better than I expected, but for sure there is still a lot of work to do!"

Tuesday was when the teams and Michelin really came together for the very first time. Despite having spent the last few months testing privately with its own structures, this test was significant for Michelin to be able to validate and verify its work-to-date. The day, held in dry, stable conditions, allowed Michelin to work through a number of tests, mainly concentrating on different tyre constructions.

Day two of the tests brought torrential rain to the southern Spanish circuit and testing was delayed while the track was cleared. Although the rain stopped, the whole day was held in drizzly conditions, allowing Michelin and its teams to test the company's latest 'wet' tyres. Although no 'official' times were available, it was clear that the Michelin 'wet', in the given conditions of this test at this circuit, was very competitive. Benetton Powered by Renault Sport driver Jenson Button said: "Although it's difficult to comment on the first test with a new team, a new car and with new tyres, I think the Michelin wets seem very good and consistent."

Thursday was a mix of wet and dry conditions, making tyre testing very difficult, but the company continued its planned dry testing schedule in the morning, before rain in the afternoon curtailed its plans. Overall, the three days have proved very constructive and Michelin now moves to the Barcelona circuit (December 12-14) for its next test session.

"We are happy that these first tests confirmed that we are moving along the right lines and that we have a good and fairly competitive base to work from. Now we need to start working towards 2001," said Pierre Dupasquier. "One thing our early tests did teach us is that grooved tyres (required under the FIA regulations) are not simply slicks with grooves; they are a whole new concept. So we are quite satisfied with the products we have been able to bring to this test."

"However, our competitor has a major advantage in that they have run on the F1 circuits under the current grooved rules for these past years and have gained a lot of experience," he continued. "We could well arrive in Melbourne in March for the first GP with our two tyre choices (F1 regulations only allow two compounds of dry weather tyre per Grand Prix), having never been allowed to test on this track, and have it completely wrong! 2001 will be very much a learning year and we do not expect any miracles."

Perhaps the best insight into the results was given by Jaguar-Racing's Eddie Irvine: "Sometimes you bolt on a new tyre (manufacturer) and hope that the car is suddenly going to fly! This hasn't been the case, but for sure the potential is there."