Saturday March 16th, 2002

Michelin boss Pierre Dupasquier has suggested there could be protests after Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix as a result of the excessive tyre wear at the Sepang circuit.

The lack of a clear rule definition on tyre wear has left the door wide open to controversy involving French manufacturer Michelin and rivals Bridgestone, and Dupasquier believes the high rate of wear at the Malaysian circuit could lead to protests from the teams.

"Definitely," replied Dupasquier when asked if tyre wear could provoke any problems in Sunday's race. "There is a very significant wear rate at this track and I can even see that there might be protests or arguments after the race if the FIA takes a strict line on what constitutes a legal tyre in terms of how much the mandatory grooves have worn down.

"Everybody's tyres will suffer a significant rate of wear and keeping within the regulations might be difficult. I don't think that will cause any headaches for teams running a two-stop strategy, but things might be marginal for those who stop once."

Many teams feared tyre wear would be a problem last season when Michelin returned to end Bridgestone's Formula One monopoly but so far there have been no protests.

"We will have to be careful tomorrow," said Ferrari's technical director Ross Brawn, whose world title-winning team use Bridgestone while main rivals Williams and McLaren are on Michelin.

"I think it will be okay but of course everyone is pushing their tyres to the limit, as you have to if you want to be competitive."

Published at 10:11:56 GMT