Schumacher welcomes 'safer' tyre rules.

Unsurprisingly for someone badly affected by the decision to force teams to run grands prix on one set of tyres in 2005, Michael Schumacher has welcomed the decision to return to multiple sets, and the return on mid-race changes, in 2006.

While welcoming the re-election of FIA president Max Mosley - 'who has always looked after the safety of the drivers and tried to improve safety levels in our sport' - Schumacher admitted that, while he was not convinced that changing rules every season was the right way forward for Formula One, he was in favour of the new regulations, especially those concerning tyres.

"I believe they are positive moves," the German insisted, "For instance, allowing tyre changes again is a significant step forward, above all for safety reasons. It was also an astute move to introduce the V8 2400cc engine for the same reason."

Asked what he made of the new qualifying system, complete with its knock-out format, the seven-time world champion admitted that he wanted to see it in action before giving his assessment - "I think that we have to wait and see whether they will lead to the desired improvements," he said.

Bridgestone failed to match the performance gain made by rival Michelin when the 2005 regs were announced, beginning the season with a tyre that didn't generate sufficient heat for the single lap required in qualifying. Although the degeneration of the rubber in races wasn't always as bad as on the Michelins, Schumacher and team-mate Rubens Barrichello were often too far back in the pack to make an impact, only winning at the USGP where, of course, the Michelin runners didn't start.