Tyre manufacturer Bridgestone believes their tyres are looking strong for this weekend's race at Monza. David Coulthard clocked the fastest time on the track during tests last week.

Hirohiden Hamashima of Bridgestone said: "Although lap times during testing normally hold little significance for us, David was still going faster on lap 27 of a simulated race test when red flags stopped him. We believe that this demonstrates the durability of our tyres for the Italian Grand Prix itself. (...) This has been a particularly important test as far as the championship is concerned, because we also used it to decide the tyres we expect to use in the final two events of the season at the Luxembourg Grand Prix and Suzuka."

Bridgestone is very keen on clinching this year's World Championship with the McLaren team and are confident that they will come out ahead over the Goodyear shod Ferrari of Michael Schumacher.