Autosport Plus

MPH: Mark Hughes on...

Drivers' reputations can take a knock if they don't get on top of the vagaries of tyre technology - just ask Felipe Massa. The trick is adaptability at a given circuit - just ask Fernando Alonso or Robert Kubica.

With Formula 1's future tyre supply about to be secured, whether it be with Michelin or Pirelli, it's going to offer another variable on driver form. It's a plain fact that in current F1, much of what is put down to peaks and troughs in drivers' performances is actually variation in how their styles mesh with the rubber characteristics.

Felipe Massa has probably been the shining example of that this year. His form dive-bombed horribly after a great performance in the season-opener in Bahrain, and then just as mysteriously returned in Monaco. What Bahrain and Monaco had in common was that the designated tyre compound choice was on the racier side, given the demands of the track. So they got up to their correct working range very easily.