JANUARY 29, 2003

What will Minardi run on?

The Minardi team turned up at Valencia yesterday amid continuing speculation about which tyres the team will run. Michelin and Minardi have both confirmed that their relationship is over and our understanding is that Minardi has asked Bridgestone to supply tyres - as it bound to do in the Concorde Agreement. At the moment however the Japanese company has yet to make any announcement to this effect and a few days ago issued a press statement talking about the "four Bridgestone supplied teams" - Ferrari, BAR, Jordan and Sauber.

It is possible that Minardi might be able to test at Valencia with Michelins if there are any left over from last year but the problem of what will happen for the rest of the season does not yet seem to be solved. And it will be interesting to see what appears on the cars when they roll out of the garage this morning.