The McLaren team are unlikely to make the same strategic error with Lewis Hamilton this weekend as they did at the Australian Grand Prix last Sunday.

The British driver was fuming when he was called in to have his tyres changed for a second time on lap 34 - he blames the decision for costing him second place.

Instead he only managed sixth, and McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale admits the team let their driver down.

“I completely understand why Lewis was frustrated,” Neale said ahead of this weekends race in Malaysia. “Every time Lewis comes in he has left nothing on the circuit and it is up to us to step up and follow him.”

Hamilton was called in for a second time for new tyres on lap 34 in Melbourne when he was putting the pressure on second-placed Robert Kubica.

But, after rejoining the race in fifth, the 25-year-old Briton could not move up the field again and a late shunt from Mark Webber forced the 2008 champion to settle for sixth while McLaren team-mate Jenson Button took victory.

“If our driver is frustrated because we have done something, made a mistake or put him in a situation that is difficult in the race, then we have to look at ourselves and say ‘did we do the best to get the job done for him?’

“If the driver is frustrated, it is our job to do something better to support them.

“Do I think with the benefit of hindsight we got that wrong in Melbourne? Yes.

“But that’s just the way it is when you get split-second or 30-second decisions to make.

“We go to Malaysia with Lewis very much a man on a mission.”

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

By Denna Bowman

A group of young volunteers have rolled up their sleeves and cleared a path in a nature spot - removing 140 fly-tipped tyres.

The illegally dumped tyres had built up over many years until the clean-up operation got under way at Foxlease Meadows, a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest near Fleet.

Members of the Youth Volunteering Project were brought in to clear the 33-hectare site, which is owned by the Ministry of Defence and has recently been leased to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.

The organisation got volunteers, aged 12 to 25 and from Basingstoke and Deane, who were either out of work or education, to clear a 200-metre path overgrown with scrub.

But in clearing the path, they found the dumped tyres on the ground and in a nearby ditch.

Sophie Curtis, youth volunteering officer, said: “They were shocked and appalled that people would fly-tip without any regard for the conservation area.

“The tyres had clearly been dumped there over many years and one tyre even had a large tree growing right through the middle of it.”

The team removed all the tyres from the area, and Tyre Recycling Service, of Fareham, Hampshire, took them away for free for use in land drainage and sea defence projects.

By Oliver Hall

Motorists are being urged to make sure their car tyres are safe and legal, as winter weather conditions return to blight the UK this week.

Vehicle owners should ensure their tyres have plenty of tread and are properly inflated to help them cope with a hazardous road conditions, according to etyres, the UK’s leading online tyre retailer.

The winter weather, combined with the worst pothole epidemic the UK has ever known, could all spell disaster for drivers as they swerve to avoid potholes or damage their tyres and other car parts as they drive over rain-filled craters.

Tony Bowman, managing director of etyres, said: “It takes a few minutes to make sure your tyres are in good condition and yet it can significantly improve your safety on the roads.”

Earlier this year a survey by Continental tyres claimed that more than three million motorists had been involved in accidents during the UK’s Big Winter Freeze.

The German tyres manufacturer discovered that one-in-ten motorists had pranged, scraped or crashed their cars as Britain shuddered through the coldest temperatures in 30 years.

By Denna Bowman

Bridgestone is set to build a second tyres manufacturing plant in India in order to meet the increase in demand it predicts will grow “significantly” on the back of highway construction.

Japan’s largest tyres maker plans to spend around £360 million on new production facilities to be built on a 770,000 square metre site near the city of Pune in Maharashtra State in western India.

Bridgestone has high expectations for future success in India, a country it describes as “an emerging market with remarkable economic growth”.

Production will get underway at the new plant in 2013 and the daily output capacity is anticipated to reach 10,000 passenger car radial tyres and 3,000 truck and bus radial tyres at the end of 2020, according to Bridgestone.

Bridgestone opened its first factory in India in 1998 near Indore in Madhya Pradesh State, central India. It has the capacity to roll out 13,000 passenger car tyres a day and will also have capacity to make 400 truck and bus tyres daily by the second half of 2012, the company announced.

Poor Lewis Hamilton got absolutely slated by an Australian minister following his tyres-smoking ‘burn-out’ on the streets of Melbourne last week.

The former world champion was booked by police after his tyres spinning antics created clouds of smoke just hours ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.

And as if the humiliation of getting booked by the local police, having his Mercedes sports car impounded and coming sixth in the second race of the season wasn’t bad enough, the 25-year-old racer has been labelled a ‘d***head’ by an Aussie politician.

His timing couldn’t have been worse because his high-jinx came just three days before the Victoria State Government was due to launch it’s ‘Don’t be a d***head’ road safety campaign aimed at bad driving by young motorists.

Victoria’s road minister Tim Pallas told Melbourne radio: “Well, he is certainly a very silly young man, I think, quite frankly.”

Pressed by radio host Neil Mitchell as to whether Hamilton was a d***head, Pallas replied: ‘Well, yes, OK, I’ll say it, yes, he’s a d***head.”

Hamilton was charged with inappropriate use of a motor vehicle under the so-called ‘anti-hoon’ laws after police caught him in the act of spinning the wheels of a Mercedes saloon he was driving away from the race track.

By Alex Kapadia

The Avon Tyres British GT Championship season gets underway at Oulton Park in Cheshire this coming weekend, when the supersports cars come together for a double header on Easter Monday.

And the tyres manufacturer sponsoring the title is teaming up with the Independent newspaper to give away tickets to lucky fans who will get to enjoy a fantastic days racing with the opening two rounds of the Championship on the same day.

Super cars from Ferrari, Aston Martin, Ascari, Dodge Viper and the new Audi R8 and other marques will go head-to-head in an all-out battle for the most prestigious domestic motor sport championship of them all.

There is also a chance to see some of the F1 stars of the future as the best young racing drivers in Britain and beyond compete in the Cooper Tires British F3 International Championship.

The Championship has been won in the past by motor sport legends like Ayrton Senna, while reigning World Champion Jensen Button also raced in the series. The weekend promises to be a festival of top class motor sport action.

Avon tyres have teamed up with the Independent newspaper and Oulton Park to offer fans 15 pairs of tickets to see a spectacular day of motor sport action.

To win a pair of tickets to this great event, answer the following question:

Q. Which tyre supplier is the title sponsor of the British GT Championship?

If you want to be in with a chance of winning some tickets, submit your answer to: onlinecompetitions@independent.co.uk

Please include your answer, name, email, address, date of birth and contact telephone number. The competition closes at 10am Wednesday March 30, and winners will be notified later that day.

However, if you don’t win tickets can also be booked by calling the ticket hotline on 0870 950 9000

Bridgestone were delighted that Jenson Button showed off the superb capabilities of their tyres as he raged to victory at the Australia Grand Prix yesterday.

Button also demonstrated his extraordinary skills by using just one set of Bridgestone’s soft compound tyres for all but the first six laps of the 58 lap race.

He had started, like the rest of the field, on the intermediate compound after rain fell on the Albert Park circuit.

The reigning champion was first to pit for a set of the soft dry compound Bridgestone Potenzas, and then drove all the way to the chequered flag on that one set to score his first race victory of 2010.

Renault F1 team driver Robert Kubica used the same strategy to gain his first podium for his new team whilst Felipe Massa took third place for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, also on the same strategy.

Pole man Sebastian Vettel was unfortunate to exit the race from the lead in his Red Bull, whilst his team-mate Mark Webber set the race’s fastest lap on lap 47 using the soft compound.

Hiroshi Yasukawa, director of motorsport for Bridgestone, said: ‘What an entertaining race and superb showcase for our Bridgestone tyre technology.

“Congratulations to Jenson Button for his first win for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, and well done to Robert Kubica for his strong second place for the Renault F1 Team.

“Albert Park provided an excellent race environment and we are happy to have seen exciting racing for the fans here and around the world.”

Hirohide Hamashima, director of motorsport tyre development for the Japanese manufacturer, added: “This was a great day for tyre performance, strategy and racing as we saw interesting action on track and a good illustration of the benefits of tyre management.

“The soft tyre was the preferred race tyre once the track dried, and this is a reflection of the track and weather conditions suiting the lower temperature working range tyre.

“Jenson Button did a superb job to look after his soft tyres for 52 laps for an impressive victory. Robert Kubica also completed a long stint showing good tyre management for second place.

“There was an interesting battle between the one stop strategies of the Ferraris and the two stop strategy of Lewis Hamilton. We are happy with the performance of our intermediate tyres which were used to start the race, with these heavy cars, and then performed well as the track dried.

“Careful tyre management meant the soft could last for so long in today’s conditions and this provided a showcase of driver tyre management skills.

“The degradation of the soft was less than we would have seen on a fully dry track, and the lap times were quite slow because of this. The hard compound, as used by Rubens Barrichello, also delivered a good performance so we are happy.”

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

By Denna Bowman

The new boss of the Michelin tyres factory in Dundee is calling on the Scottish Government to provide substantial grant support for investment to safeguard its future.

John Reid warns that new technology is vital to secure the tyres plant’s survival and he is is putting proposals to Michelin executives and government ministers to ensure the company remains viable over the next three to five years.

Reid revealed the Dundee factory is aiming to specialise in tyres designed for the growing electric car market.

The recession of 2009 had a drastic effect on the company, which has been a major employer in Dundee since 1972. Global revenue fell by around 10 per cent worldwide with sales of tyres down nearly 15 per cent.

Along with several other employers, the Michelin factory cut hours and production rather than lay off any of its 800 employees in the second half of 2009.

Reid said: “Dundee is a good plant, but in the future there will only be excellent plants. There won’t be good plants. We have to drive harder to become an excellent factory. That is the next challenge over the next three to five years.”

Last month, Michelin invested £20 million in upgrading its Stoke-on-Trent factory, which was augmented by a £3.9m grant from the regional development agency Advantage West Midlands.

Reid said: “We will be looking for government support and grants. We have to justify every investment we make and it is a competition. Michelin has a limited resource it can invest. If it can make a better investment in other plant then it will do.

“If we can get support from local government to bear a percentage of the costs, then it is a little easier to fish in the investment.”

By Alex Kapadia

Jenson Button stormed to victory at the Australian Grand Prix after he surprised his team with an inspired decision to switch to slick tyres early.

The reigning Formula One champion finished 12 seconds clear of the field in an action-packed race at Albert Park.

But his bold tyres strategy and changing weather conditions helped to secure his win after he switched to dry-weather slick tyres early in the race.

The McLaren driver made the call to come in for the swap from intermediates before anyone else - a move which surprised pundits especially as he went off the track and briefly into the gravel soon after the stop.

He said: “I didn’t have a balance on the intermediate tyres. I had so much oversteer and the rear tyres were destroying themselves after four or five laps.

“If that is happening so quickly, you have got to take a punt. I thought I had made the wrong decision but when I drove out onto the circuit, I felt pretty good about it.

“I made a mistake at Turn Three but I could get into a rhythm pretty quickly and when everyone else pitted, their tyres were cold. I knew where to brake and I could just pick them off.”

He also said that he never intended to pit again, unlike his team mate Lewis Hamilton.

“For me I never thought of putting on another set. It was to run the race on one set of tyres if we could. My pace was not great. Once I settled into the car I felt I was starting to damage the tyres. I settled into pace that would not destroy the rears.

“We could not have done a better strategy. My decision at the beginning was my call but with a lot of feedback from the circuit. I need to thank McLaren for all our hard work. It’s good to see us get a result for the hard work.”

Meanwhile, Hamilton criticised his team for their two-pit strategy for his car which saw him finishing in sixth place.

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