“Bridgestone are Back”

The Renault of Fernando Alonso took first place at Sunday’s San Marino Grand Prix, on a completely new design of Michelin Formula 1 tyre. Following the result, second place Michael Schumacher is reported to have pronounced that “Bridgestone are back.” “They have suffered a lot of (bad) publicity lately,” the Ferrari driver added. Now, following a successful race at Imola, the tyre supplier is confident that the team it supplies can push for the championship once again. “I think we can say that the Bridgestone was the better tyre today,” said technical manager Hisao Suganuma.

Although Michael Schumacher’s car was lapping two seconds faster than any other car at one point, in terms of points Michelin supplied drivers dominated. Following Fernando Alonso’s win, and Michael Schumacher’s second place BAR Honda’s Jenson Button, filled the remaining podium space. After that all other point scoring positions were filled by Michelin drivers. “It’s clear that (Bridgestone) have upped their game,” said Michelin’s Pierre Dupasquier.