Michelin take first blood in tyre war.

With all-new tyre regulations for 2005, it was always going to be a facinating first battle to see what the compound boffins at Michelin and Bridgestone had cooked up, and from the Albert Park race, Michelin has won the first battle.

With tyres now having to last the entire race distance there was the unusual spectactle of pitstops with no airgun wielding mechanics untaking rapid changes, and the expectation had been that the cars would become unwieldy as the laps clicked by, but this didn't seem to be the case.

The Michelin tyres on Giancarlo Fisichella's car seemed unperturbed with the race distance and Renault's Pat Symonds reckoned both driver and the tyres had truly delivered. "I said before the race that the new rules would force the drivers to demonstrate new skills, and it was pleasing to see both of them demonstrate a deep understanding of their requirements so quickly," said Symonds. "We must also thank Michelin: we couldn't have asked for better tyres for today's race."

Whilst Michelin runners make up the majority of the field, Bridgestone's approach of all their eggs in one basket, with regards to focusing their attention on the Ferrari effort, came unstuck at this particular race.

Whilst not criticising the Bridgestone rubber, Ferrari 'brain' Ross Brawn reckoned they could have been more agressive with their choice. "The guys picked a really good strategy for him and the tyres held up well," explained Brawn. "We couldn't have asked for much more considering the qualifying position. You have to remember that we have got the old car here which is a compromise. I'm looking forward to getting the new car but what was encouraging was that the Bridgestone tyres held up very well, they were excellent today and we could probably have been a little more aggressive in our choice."

Brawn's counterpart over at Renault, Pat Symonds, was far more vocal in his praise for the rubber he used. "The new rules are very demanding on tyres, but we couldn't have asked for more than Michelin gave us today," he gushed. "Our Michelin tyres were fantastic and consistent, the wear rates were well under control and our cars' balance hardly changed from start to finish. Michelin has tackled an extremely difficult problem in a very professional way and our thanks go to Michelin."

Next round in the Michelin / Bridgestone battle is in two weeks time at Malaysia.