After Friday practice for the United States Grand Prix the best placed Michelin driver was Jaguar's Eddie Irvine, who was second quickest.

Four other Michelin drivers posted top-10 times. McLaren's David Coulthard was third, McLaren team-mate Kimi Raikkonen fourth, Renault's Jarno Trulli eighth, and BMW WilliamsF1 driver Ralf Schumacher tenth. For Ralf his session would see him spin and clipped
a tyre barrier during the morning and his rear wing fell off as he rejoined the circuit, but the car was swiftly repaired in time for the afternoon session.

For Juan Pablo Montoya he would have a frustrating day. He would have a couple of spins and technical problems restricted him to fewer laps than most of his rivals. They also caused him to pull off the track and park in the closing moments of the session.

Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin Motorsport Director, responded to a series of questions.

What were your impressions of the opening day here at Indianapolis?

"I thought we were going to have an opportunity to put our latest-specification wet-weather tyres to the test after the downpours early this morning. I was rather looking forward to that because we haven't had a chance to try them out during a race weekend recently. It didn't happen because conditions quickly improved, but we managed to get plenty of mileage with both our dry tyres."

What can you tell us about the primary (A) and option (B) tyres that Michelin is using this weekend?

"They are similar in terms of construction but quite different in terms of compound. In today's conditions one of them proved to be both fast and consistent, so if things don't change much tomorrow I think our partner teams will have quite a straightforward choice to make."

How much did this morning's rain affect track conditions?

"The circuit was very abrasive at first, which was to be expected after the rain had cleaned up the surface. As more rubber went down, however, the grip level improved and the rate of wear diminished. Conditions basically got better and better throughout t he day and I'm sure they will continue to improve throughout the weekend."

What is the most difficult thing about racing at Indianapolis?

"Simple. At Monaco teams can set a car up in maximum downforce trim and know that is the best solution for a tight twisty track, so we produce a tyre to suit; for a high-speed race such as Monza you can remove most of the downforce and you know pretty much what you need before you put a wheel on the track. But here you have to find a compromise between two extremes - a high-speed straight and a very tight infield. That means producing a tyre that can withstand two very different demands but, from what we have seen so far, I think we are in good shape."