Ferrari's New Tyre Boost

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FERRARI'S NEW TYRE BOOST

Ferrari's world title hopes could be transformed by new tyres Bridgestone has developed for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The team's Malaysian GP defeat has prompted it to bring forward the debut of its new F2005 challenger to this weekend, in an effort to re-fire its championship campaign.

Bridgestone, which accepted the blame for Ferrari's Sepang drubbing, has also rushed through a test programme at Mugello to ready fresh compounds for the new car's debut.

And now that tyres must last a race distance, it has added a critical new element to the tyre war between Bridgestone and Michelin.

"Ferrari's decision to race the F2005 was a bold one and as a result we have been able to accelerate our development programme," said Bridgestone technical manager Hisao Suganuma.

"We have been testing hard with Ferrari with both the F2005 at Mugello and the F2004M in Fiorano, and we are hopeful of being competitive this weekend."

But Suganuma warned against expecting an immediate upturn in Ferrari's form.

"We are looking forward to seeing our latest specifications working in combination with the new Ferrari car," he said.

"However, this is only its debut race and we will undoubtedly be extracting more and more potential from the new package as it runs over the rest of the season."

Meanwhile Michelin, which supplied the top six finishers in Sepang, is not resting on its laurels.

"We might have made a sparkling start to the season, but there is never any scope for complacency in F1," warned Michelin motorsport director Pierre Dupasquier.