Autumn should suit Michelin

Formula One teams complete the first leg of their 18-race season this weekend at Albert Park, Melbourne - the third race of the campaign and the last before the sport returns to its traditional European heartland.

This will be the 22nd Australian Grand Prix and the 11th in Melbourne. The first 11 took place in Adelaide, between 1985 and 1995, when the race established a foothold as the sport's annual finale. In 1996, the switch to Albert Park - where the circuit roads are used by everyday traffic for 51 weeks per year - coincided with a new slot as the opening race of the campaign. That role was only relinquished this season because of a clash with the recent Commonwealth Games, which also took place in the city.

Albert Park was the venue for Michelin's F1 return in 2001, after a 17-year sabbatical, and the company has scored two victories here since. David Coulthard (McLaren Mercedes) headed a Bibendum 1-2-3 in 2003 and Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault) won last season's corresponding fixture.

Michelin is unbeaten in the sport so far this year, in the wake of impressive victories in Bahrain and Malaysia, and this weekend the company will be chasing its 96th F1 world championship success as it edges ever closer to its landmark centenary.

Michelin's view
Nick Shorrock, Formula One director, Michelin "After our uccesses in the heat of Bahrain and the intense humidity of Malaysia, we anticipate very different circumstances at Albert Park. That holds no worries, though - as we proved last year, we are accustomed to mastering a wide range of conditions."
"The Melbourne race is slightly later in the year than usual. It will be autumn in Australia and track temperatures should be the coolest we have come across so far this season. Together with our partners we have, as usual, worked hard to develop suitable products - we will be using slightly softer compounds than we did for the previous two races, in order to generate optimum temperatures and minimise the risk of graining at a track that subjects tyres to significant lateral loads. In total, we will have eight dry-weather options available for our six partner teams."

Team perspective:
Christian Horner, sporting director, Red Bull Racing "Red Bull Racing has achieved an awful lot since making its Formula One debut in Australia little more than 12 months ago. When we arrived in Melbourne last year, I don't think anybody could have envisaged what lay ahead."

"Since then we have established our credibility as a serious racing team and Michelin has done a superb job for us. In 2005 its tyres were clearly the class of the field and this year, in the face of heightened competition, it is once again in very good shape. I'm very happy with the service we receive."

MICHELIN IN AUSTRALIA

There is no manufacturing in Australia. Michelin Australia was established in 1997, prior to that product was sourced through wholesale distribution.

Head office is based in Melbourne.

Michelin Australia has developed the following product offer: passenger and light truck, truck and bus, earthmover, 2 wheel, aircraft, and agricultural (Michelin is not involved with Maps and Guides)

Number of employees: 125

MICHELIN'S 200 GRANDS PRIX !!

In Malaysia, Michelin contested its 200th Formula One Grand Prix. A thrilling history that started almost 30 years ago, a certain July 17th, 1977…

1977 - Legend of the yellow teapot
July 17: in partnership with Renault, Michelin makes its F1 debut in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Some smile at Jean-Pierre Jabouille's RS01.

1978 - "El lole" breaks Michelin's duck
Six months after Michelin's F1 debut, Carlos Reutemann (Ferrari) scores the company's first win in the Brazilian Grand Prix at Jacarepagua, Rio. Two months later the Argentine idol notches up Michelin's first F1 pole position in the US GP West at Long Beach

1979 - Michelin's double title triumph
Jody Scheckter (Ferrari) is world champion driver and his team wins the title for constructors.

1980 - The years roll on… and no two look the same Renault scores 3 victories but Michelin has no more titles to add to its tally.

1981 - 13 wins = fightback
Michelin ends up supplying the whole grand prix field for 7 races. There are 15 events in all and Michelin wins 13.

1982 - Close, but…
Michelin captures 11 pole positions and 8 wins, but even that is not enough to secure any additional F1 titles. Running on Michelins, McLaren driver John Watson finishes as world championship runner-up.

1983 - Another title in the bag
Nelson Piquet (Brabham/Michelin) just pips Alain Prost (Renault/Michelin) to bring another world championship for drivers to Clermont-Ferrand. Michelin racks up 9 wins in all.

1984 - 59 wins in 112 Grands Prix
14 wins from 16 GPs contested. Niki Lauda (McLaren) crowned world champion driver, McLaren picks up constructors' title. Michelin decides to withdraw after proving the worth of its radial technology at the pinnacle of motor racing.

2000 - Michelin, the comeback
Michelin returns to F1. The news is announced in December 1999. Throughout 2000, Michelin test drivers Tom Kristensen and Jörg Müller evaluate m ore than 3,000 tyres at a number of different circuits.

2001 - Mission accomplished
At the end of a long season, those who proposed this return are able to breathe a sigh of relief: Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya (BMW WilliamsF1 Team) share four wins and four pole positions.

2002 - A lot of ground covered in a short space of time…
Michelin might have finished the campaign with "only" two victories to its name, but it makes significant - and positive - technical progress with its range of dry-weather tyres.

2003 - Michelin in full flight
Michelin scores seven victories and 30 podium finishes - and the Hungarian GP will remain as an unforgettable highlight: Michelin cars take the top seven positions. Michelin's tyre-development expertise is clear for all to see.

2004 - Three wins, despite the dominant reds
The 2004 season is notable for Ferrari's almost total dominance. Michelin scores a hat trick of victories with three different teams: Jarno Trulli (Renault) wins in Monaco, Kimi Räikkönen (McLaren-Mercedes) in Belgium and Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams-BMW) in Brazil.

2005- Simply the best
Michelin supplies 70 per cent of the field and wins 18 of the 19 races - a 94.7 percent strike rate - as it sweeps to en emphatic title double. Fernando Alonso (Renault F1 Team), at 24, makes history as the sport's youngest champion while Renault clinches the constructors' title.