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With an appearance before the FIA awaiting them, and with the cause of Toyota’s Indianapolis tyre failures still unconfirmed, the Michelin teams return to the test track this week, along with their Bridgestone rivals, in preparation for the French Grand Prix.

Ralf Schumacher, ruled out of the US Grand Prix following his practice shunt, was due at the wheel from Wednesday when Toyota begin a three-day session at Jerez in Spain. However, although he is expected to be fit for Magny-Cours, the team may decide it too early to put him back in the car this week.

That would leave Jarno Trulli and Ricardo Zonta to carry the Japanese team’s work load, though they may also call on the services of Olivier Panis, especially as the French veteran is due to run as their third driver at his home race.

Like maiden polesitters Toyota, McLaren were left particularly disappointed after the US affair, as Kimi Raikkonen was hotly tipped for his fourth victory of the season. He will be at Jerez on Thursday alongside team mate Juan Pablo Montoya, with the Colombian also running on Wednesday. Alexander Wurz is scheduled for both those days and Friday.

Sauber also have a three-day programme planned at Jerez, as do Renault, who are expected to field Fernando Alonso plus test drivers Franck Montagny, fresh from his stint at Le Mans, and his stand-in as reserve driver at Indy, Heikki Kovalainen. Williams, meanwhile, are due to run Nick Heidfeld and Antonio Pizzonia on Thursday and Friday.

Of the three Bridgestone teams, two are expected to test this week, both in Barcelona. Ferrari begin a three-day session on Tuesday, while Jordan will have Tiago Monteiro on track Thursday and team mate Narain Karthikeyan on Friday.

Check back throughout the week for the latest updates on the teams’ progress. Note - all schedules are provisional and remain subject to change.