Michelin leaves Japan happy with 2002 season

For Michelin the Japanese Grand Prix, the last race of the 2002 season, would see McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen finish in third today with BMW WilliamsF1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya fourth and thereby securing third place in the Drivers' Championship. The BMW WilliamsF1 Team had previously secured second place in the Constructors' Championship two weeks ago.

For WilliamsF1 team-mate Ralf Schumacher he would be robbed of third place after an engine failure with four laps to go. The final point would go to Renault's Jenson Button in sixth. Juan Pablo commented on the race by saying: "The strategy for me today was really bringing the car home and this is what I did. I am obviously delighted that I achieved third place in the Drivers' Championship in my second season in F1."

BMW WilliamsF1's main rival in the drivers title was McLaren's David Coulthard. He would run a strong third in the opening stages before being forced to pull into the pits when his car developed a fault. "I would have liked to finish the season with a podium which I think would have been possible today, so obviously I'm disappointed." Coulthard said.

Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin Motorsport Director, responded to questions regarding the race.

This was another good race for Michelin in terms of tyre performance. What did you make of it?

"As we have come to expect, our tyres proved to be quick, durable and consistent. This is an abrasive track but we had no tyre wear concerns at all, which is something we have come to expect during the course of this season. We are happy to join in with the Japanese crowd's pleasure with Takuma Sato's performance and also we are very pleased for Max Biaggi who won the Moto GP 500 race at Sepang with Michelin."

How did your primary (A) and option (B) tyres differ in terms of performance today?

"Very little. Both of them were very suitable for the conditions, but the primary proved to be perhaps a little bit better than the option. Eight of our partner teams' drivers opted for that one."

Looking back on 2002 as a whole, what have been the most positive aspects for Michelin?

"Last year we were very much taking our first steps back in F1 and this season we have spent time fine-tuning our working methods and the way we develop our products. The result has been a series of solid, quick and reliable tyre compounds that have served our partner teams well. We might not have scored as many wins as we did last year, but generally our tyres were much more competitive. We scored 24 podium finishes in all and had at least one driver in the top three at every event. Furthermore, seven of the top nine drivers in the final championship standings ran on Michelin tyres. I have to thank all our partner teams and the factory staff for their brilliant work."

What developments will we see next?

"We have lots of interesting ideas and will be pressing ahead with our 2003 development programme immediately. We think we have identified areas where we can make small but significant gains. We'll be back on track in mid-November with some new compounds and constructions. The season might be over but we are highly motivated about next season and raring to go."