Bridgestone Tyres

[Rob]

Bridgestone Tyres Tested in Valencia
04/02/2010Bridgestone Motorsport, the Official Tyre Supplier to the FIA Formula One World Championship, has completed the first group test of the exciting new 2010 season after three days at the 4.05 km Circuit Comunitat de la Valenciana, in Spain.

This was the first opportunity for teams, drivers and observers to see in action the final specification of the new narrow front Potenza F1 tyre developed by Bridgestone for this season. With a tyre size of 245/ 55R13, the new front tyre when fitted to a rim is 20mm narrower than the 2009 specification and is designed to redress the balance of the cars after grooves were removed from the tyres ahead of the 2009 season.

Bridgestone will again have four dry tyre compounds (Hard, Medium, Soft and Super Soft) to cover the 19 race calendar, with two selected per race weekend. Two of these four compound designations of 2010 dry tyre: the Soft and Super Soft; were available for use by the teams in Valencia this week, as well as the current specification intermediate and wet weather tyres.

Seven teams attended the test, which took place between 1-3 February, with sunny conditions and moderate winds prevailing over the course of the three day test.

Bridgestone’s Potenza Formula One tyres will next be seen in use in Jerez on February 10-13, where Bridgestone expects ten teams to be present, including Virgin Racing, the first of the four new F1 teams to break cover. This will be quickly followed by another four days of testing at Jerez from February 17-20, where Lotus Racing is also expected to join the group test. Along with the intermediate and wet weather tyres, the Medium will be the main dry compound available at both these Jerez tests, with teams also able to request the Hard and Soft compounds as additional options during both weeks.

Q&A with Tetsuro Kobayashi – Technical Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport:

Which specifications were brought to Valencia and why?
“We brought the Soft and Super Soft dry compound tyres to Valencia, along with our intermediate and wet weather specifications too. Valencia is a less severe track compared to some and although it has a slightly rough surface we are able to use our softer compounds here. One interesting factor at Valencia however is the front tyre graining caused by the lateral forces, which makes it a good track for us to evaluate the graining resistance of our front tyres. This is in contrast to the Jerez track, where teams will next test, which is much more severe, especially on the rear tyres. So we will be able to check our rear tyre performance more thoroughly next week.”

First test of the year with no fewer than seven teams: what was learnt from this test?
“First of all, we are pleased to have seen the good potential of the 2010 specifications, even though it’s a little difficult to judge fully the true performance because of the special characteristics of the Valencia circuit. So far though, our tyre performance is in line with our expectations. We are expecting to learn more about rear tyre behaviour at the next consecutive Jerez tests where the rough tarmac and severe layout will provide a good testing opportunity for the Bridgestone rear tyres.”

The next two tests will be at Jerez. Which specifications will be seen there? “The Medium compound will be supplied as the prime compound for both of the tests and the Hard and Soft compounds will be available during both week one and week two as option compounds.”

Why has Bridgestone only now developed the narrow front?
“The decision to change from grooved to slick tyres ahead of the 2009 season meant that the front tyres gained proportionately more contact surface area in comparison to the rear tyres. This in turn gave the fronts more grip than was ideally required. However, at the request of the teams, who had already designed their 2009 cars based on the previous sized fronts, we delayed the introduction of the narrow front until 2010.”

How much more narrow is the new front and did the teams have to do anything in particular to accommodate it?
“It is actually 20mm more narrow (including wheel width) than the 2009 specification (2010 front tyre size: 245/55 R13) and it enables the cars to be better balanced from front to rear. From the teams’ perspectives, they should have taken these new fronts into consideration when designing their 2010 cars and they were asked in particular to consider designing the cars with more rear carrying load in order to get the best out of the tyres.”

What other changes has Bridgestone made to the tyres ahead of this season?
“Of course, being a new sized front, the front construction has been slightly modified but the other main change this year has been a change to the rear tyre construction in order to increase its durability. There has also been some modification of the tyre compounds in order to manage the expected longer stint lengths and to provide quicker warm up times in comparison to our 2009 compound range.”

How much work is involved from Bridgestone’s perspective in designing, developing and manufacturing new tyre specifications?
“There is a great deal of effort required when designing and introducing new tyre specifications. Firstly, it is vital that the tyres are safe and of a high quality. They must also be capable of doing the job they have been designed for. Our tyre designers and engineers at our Technical Centre in Kodaira City, Tokyo, Japan, were extremely busy last year working on the prototypes and ensuring that the final specifications met the stringent quality and performance tests at our indoor testing facility. Only when tyres pass these tests on the rigs are they allowed to be run on the cars. It has to be said that the teams have also played an important part in this process as their simulation data is vital in ensuring that we are placing the tyres under the right amounts and types of loading. It is very much a collaborative process and we now look forward to seeing the tyres in action on the race tracks.”

Does the no refuelling rule and anticipated longer stint lengths place the tyres under added stresses?
“Certainly, with the cars being potentially 100kgs heavier this year at the start of the races than last year, the longer stint lengths with greater amounts of fuel will place additional loads on the tyres but our 2010 casing should be much more durable in comparison to the 2009 casing: the strengthened rear construction in particular; will help the cars accommodate this new rule. We will also keep monitoring and analysing the data very carefully at the coming winter tests and races because the downforce created by the 2010 cars will keep improving throughout the season. We have already noted that much higher downforces are being produced in comparison to last season.”

How will Bridgestone allocate the two types of dry tyre in 2010? “Like 2009, Bridgestone intends to take two dry compounds which are a step allocation apart to most races: Hard and Soft or Medium and Super Soft for example. This will not be possible at some races however, such as Monaco, where it is important to have consecutive soft compounds to ensure maximum grip on the street circuit. The compound allocation will again be determined by Bridgestone, based on our experience of previous years and the data received from the teams.”

How many sets of tyres will drivers have available at race weekends?
“The number of sets of dry tyres to be made available in 2010 for each driver per race weekend has been reduced from 14 sets to 11 sets. These will consist of six sets of the “prime” tyre and five sets of the “option” tyre. Furthermore, we will provide four sets of intermediate tyre and three sets of wet tyre. This is welcome news from Bridgestone’s perspective as we will have additional teams to supply and provide tyre fitting services to this year and we thank the FIA and teams for their co-operation in this regard.”

How will the tyres be visually distinguishable from each other this season? “We will mark the softer of the two compounds available at each race weekend with green bands on the outer edges of the sidewalls. We tested many different alternatives and this location gave the best visibility, from the side and also a head-on view. We have used the colour green as it shows our support of the FIA’s Make Cars Green campaign.”

[brembo man]

Is Bridgestone going to be with F1 in 2011?

[Tommy_F]

Is Bridgestone going to be with F1 in 2011?

Nope: http://www.formula1.com/news/headlin.../11/10185.html

[Rob]

Bridgestone pre-season testing report
Bridgestone Motorsport concluded the final pre-season test before the start of the 2010 Formula One season at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona where all four compounds of Bridgestone’s dry tyre range were used over four days on February 25-28.
As a contrast to the previous two tests in Jerez, there was predominantly dry weather over the four days, meaning that extensive mileage could be completed by the eleven teams present. Bridgestone’s Potenza Formula One tyres will be used next at the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 12- 14 where the super soft and medium compound will be used.

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development:

What are Bridgestone’s conclusions from pre-season testing?
“The major change of the narrower front tyre is working well and has made a positive change to car grip balance. Teams have made good progress despite the limited dry running this month. Our objective of improving the warm-up of all of the dry compounds has been achieved and the tyres are working well with the new, heavier cars.”

How important was it to get dry weather in Barcelona?
“After a lot of rain in Jerez it was good to get dry running here. The first test in Valencia was also dry, however with only seven teams there was a limited amount of data. If Valencia had been the only dry test, then there would be a lot still to learn in Bahrain. Of course, in Barcelona the weather was not perfect. The first day the track was green so it wasn’t until the second day that we had a good amount of rubber laid. There was rain on the third day, which didn’t help, but overall this final test has been very valuable.”

How are the dry tyres performing?
“All four compounds were tested here in Barcelona. Considering the temperatures because of the time of year, we have seen performance in line with our predictions. This week has been a good validation of the good work of our development engineers in Japan. The super soft is a bit too soft for this severe circuit, but there have been good test results with this tyre here. The soft tyre was used for the majority of running, and we’ve seen some very long runs with this tyre as teams evaluate strategy options for the latest rules. The medium and hard compounds have also given good results.”

What are the crucial strategy considerations for 2010?
“Because there is no refuelling the teams will be looking very carefully at pitstop strategies. We could see longer stint lengths than we have seen recently, and the tyre constructions and compounds have been modified to suit. Of course, for those qualifying in the top ten there is the added consideration of having to start the race on the same tyres which were used for qualifying. It will be interesting to see how this works in practice in the first r

[Rob]

New tyre rules not the answer for F1 www.autosport.com

Saturday, March 27th 2010, 02:08 GMT

Formula 1 tyre supplier Bridgestone has told teams not to look at it to try and improve the racing this year - with the company already confident the spectacle will be better at the Australian Grand Prix.

On the back of a far from thrilling season opener in Bahrain, the focus from a lot of teams has been on trying to change the tyre rules in a bid to spice up the racing.

There has been talk about introducing mandatory pitstops or in forcing Bridgestone to bring totally different compound tyres to the events - perhaps in having only the super soft and the hard tyres available.

However, Bridgestone's director of motorsport tyre development Hirohide Hamashima thinks that such plans are flawed.

"We just want to provide the best tyres for each grand prix," Hamashima told AUTOSPORT about the company's stance after the Bahrain Grand Prix. "This is our mission.

"Of course we can change the [compound] allocation. However it is not so proper - because even if we provide a very big degradation of one spec and a consistent one as the other one, if the teams choose the same strategy then nothing changes. That is our logic."

Hamashima said that tyre compound choices were now totally in place for the first half of the season, and thinks it would be too risky to go softer with tyres later in the year because of the high-speed venues on the calendar.

"We have produced the tyres already until the middle of the season," he said. "The remaining circuits are very, very severe - for example Monza and Suzuka. For those circuits if we use the super soft then we have a risk to get blistering. That is not so good for F1."

Although believing that new tyre rules are not the answer to improving the show, Hamashima thinks the situation will improve by itself – with unique circumstances partly to blame for what happened in Bahrain.

The Sakhir track is very easy on tyres, which meant there was little performance difference between the supersoft and medium tyres that were taken to the track. Furthermore, as the first race of the new non-refuelling era, Hamashima reckoned drivers played things too conservatively and looked after their tyres too much.

Hamashima said that discussions had already taken place with F1 race director Charlie Whiting about the matter – as he explained why the performance difference between the two tyres in Bahrain did not appear to be so large.

"Charlie asked me about the performance difference in Bahrain. I explained to him, and showed data analysis, comparing last year and this year.

"In Bahrain, the performance difference was bigger than last year. Maybe if you watch the lap chart, especially Rubens [Barrichello], you can see his lap time was very quick in the second stint with the super soft.

"If we consider that point, then the tyre performance difference is enough. But Bahrain is very, very gentle for tyres so it is difficult to make a different performance of specifications.

"Maybe the drivers could have used the tyres a little bit harder – both with the supersoft and the medium. The remaining tyre performance was certainly enough."

The early evidence from practice in Melbourne is also pointing to a bigger difference between teams and the two tyre choices – with the severity of the Albert Park circuit prompting some graining on the soft tyres after a few laps.

Hamashima said: "I think here will be a different picture. This weekend, I believe the car performance difference may be bigger and tyre performance may also be getting a little bit bigger. That should mix things up."

[Rob]

2010 Chinese Grand Prix Preview
09/04/2010 2010

Bridgestone heads to China for the fourth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship where the hard and soft compound Potenza tyres will be put through their paces on the severe Shanghai International Circuit on April 16-18.

The Shanghai track is severe for tyres, with two long straights and sixteen corners of varying types over its 5.45 km. Heavy braking, extreme lateral loads and high demands on traction are just some of the factors that Bridgestone’s tyres will encounter. Turns 2 and 7 are likely to induce tyre graining, whilst the high lateral G-force generated through the sequence of turns 7-8 will place strong demands on the tyres’ construction and heat durability. There is an element of gradient changes over the course of a lap as well as an element of banking in turn 13.


Chinese F1 Grand Prix provides good opportunites
“China is a rapidly expanding automotive market so it is good for Bridgestone to have a highly visible event like the F1 Chinese Grand Prix to promote our technology here. In China we have tyre production, natural and synthetic rubber and steel cord facilities, a technical centre and proving ground, as well as a number of plants for our diversified products so it is a very important location for us.”
Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport


Shanghai Circuit is severe on Bridgestone's Potenza tyres
“Shanghai International Circuit is severe on tyres. There are very high lateral forces and we expect to see graining on the front left tyres, especially caused by the increasing radius turn two and the banked turn thirteen. We could also see graining on the rear tyres here too. We are a step harder in our allocation for this year compared to 2009 because of the heavier cars and the severity of this track. The circuit layout means that a medium downforce set-up will be used, as there are two long straights, but a large percentage of the track is also very twisty and technical. For the teams and drivers, finding the correct set-up to make the best use of their tyres will be a big challenge. Last year the challenge was the weather, and we saw our wet tyres used for most of the race. It was not the first time we have had wet conditions in China so the sky will be a strong consideration for this weekend.”
Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development


Chinese Grand Prix Stats & Facts
Number & Spec of tyres brought to Shanghai: 2000 (Hard, soft, intermediate/wets)
Pole position time 2009: 1min 36.184secs (Vettel)
Fastest race lap 2009: 1min 52.592secs (Barrichello)
Top three 2009: Vettel, Webber, Button

[Rob]

2010 F1 Potenza Tyres...the story so far

Two races have already taken place in one of the most eagerly anticipated seasons in years and as Formula One races towards the third on the 19 race calendar, Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, Hirohide Hamashima, evaluates what’s been learnt so far about tyres.

“From Bridgestone’s perspective we are very happy with the tyre performance that we’ve seen in the first two races.

“Heading to Bahrain for the season opener, we had a very limited amount of data. Pre-season testing was severely limited by the rain we experienced in Spain so these first two races have seen us all very much on a steep learning curve.”


No refuelling impact on Formula 1 tyres

The latest cars are developed around the concept of no refuelling, meaning they are heavier than those used in recent seasons.

“No refuelling means bigger fuel tanks and the cars are around 100kg heavier than last year when full of fuel. This is a big proportion of the car’s weight, but there are other downward loads on the tyres too.

“For instance, when an F1 car is moving there can be around 2000kg of downforce load on the car, and this load is pushing down on the tyres. In the context of load, an additional 100kg is not as big a weight change, however it is a bigger difference in terms of inertia.”

The heavier fuel loads do mean that the race start is very interesting from a tyre performance perspective.


Heavy fuel loads on F1 tyres provides interesting start

“The race start is when the cars are heaviest, and the tyres at their coolest as the formation lap does not maintain tyre heat. Despite this, we have not encountered any related problems at the start of the first two races, showing that drivers are controlling their cars well in these difficult conditions.”

Pre-season testing took place in cool and frequently wet conditions in Spain, but the first race of the season took place in dry and hot conditions in Bahrain.

“We were happy with tyre performance in Bahrain. Even the super soft compound performed well in the high temperatures, and the new section which was added to the circuit didn’t present any difficulties.

“Bahrain is certainly not one of the most severe circuits on the calendar, but Albert Park where we headed next is more of a challenge - as we saw in 2009.

Vettel set fastest lap time on Potenza F1 tyres

“It was certainly an interesting weekend. In qualifying we saw how well advanced the latest cars are. Even with the packaging for bigger fuel tanks and their increased minimum weight, Sebastian Vettel was able to set a new lap record of 1min 23.919secs, beating the previous record of 1min 24.408secs set by Michael Schumacher in a competitive tyre environment in 2004.”

“Much of this speed comes because of the incredible car development we have seen, even when the regulations attempt to slow the cars.

“We estimate that downforce levels are now closing to around the same as they were in 2008. Even without the winglets we used to see and narrower rear wings, the evolution in aerodynamic packages for the cars and the presence of multiple diffusers mean that the cars are pushed hard into the road.


Formula One tyre contact patch is very small


“These high loads of downforce have a big effect on the tyres and enable the lateral forces which we see from cornering.

“The contact patch of an F1 tyre with the road when a car is stationary is about the size of a postcard. When that same car is going at 300 km/h, the loads on the tyre change its shape so the contact patch is now around the size of a standard A4 piece of paper.”

The race action in Australia saw the first use of Bridgestone’s intermediate tyre in the 2010 season.

“The intermediate was used extensively in testing, but this was not a good gauge of the potential race performance of this tyre. In testing the objective is very different to the objective in a race, so we are pleased to see a good performance from this tyre in Australia.”

Once the rain stopped at Albert Park, drivers gravitated to the dry tyres, with the soft compound the favoured option.


Albert Park interesting from F1 tyre perspective

“The Australian race was very interesting as the option tyre was the favoured race tyre. The cool conditions meant that the lower temperature working range of this tyre worked well especially as the track was not fully dry. The slower lap times, because of the track condition, meant that the tyre could last a very long time when it was managed well.”

Next on the calendar is the Malaysian Grand Prix, a race which held a lot of excitement last season.

“The weather is one factor over which we have very little influence, as we saw in Sepang in 2009 when the rain was very hard, so hard that the race was stopped early. This year the race is slightly earlier, but we could still see rain.

“Also, Malaysia is often very hot and this should mean higher tyre degradation than we saw in Australia, so we are hopeful of another exciting race.” “From Bridgestone’s perspective we are very happy with the tyre performance that we’ve seen in the first two races."
“Bahrain is certainly not one of the most severe circuits on the calendar, but Albert Park where we headed next is more of a challenge - as we saw in 2009."

“The contact patch of an F1 tyre with the road when a car is stationary is about the size of a postcard. When that same car is going at 300 km/h, the loads on the tyre change its shape so the contact patch is now around the size of a standard A4 piece of paper.”

[Rob]

Bridgestone Motorsport’s Monaco Grand Prix Report

16/05/2010 Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing) has proved peerless with a superb performance to win the Monaco Grand Prix with a super soft – medium Bridgestone Potenza tyre strategy on the streets of Monte Carlo.

Webber finished just ahead of team-mate Sebastian Vettel after the end of the fourth safety car period. Renault F1 Team driver Robert Kubica finished in third. The top three drivers were all on the same tyre strategy.




Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, says

“Once more this wonderful, historic location of Monaco has provided Formula One with an excellent race and we are proud of the performance of our tyres which added to the spectacle today. Many spectators here and television viewers around the world were rewarded with a fantastic sporting event. We enjoy a good relationship with the people of Monaco and our signage has always been very prominent here. It shows the brand name of Bridgestone strongly on televisions and newspapers everywhere. Congratulations to Mark Webber and Red Bull for their consecutive win, and also to Renault who powered all three podium finishers.”




Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, says

“Today I am proud to say that both compounds of Bridgestone Potenzas performed very well and a variety of strategies were possible. The medium compound was so strong. It provided good lap times right up to the end of the race, even when it had been used for 77 laps as in the case of Fernando Alonso, who achieved a good result after starting from the pit lane. The super soft compound also showed praiseworthy performance, even with the heavy fuel loads at the start of the race. We could see from the pace of Nico Rosberg before his pit stop that this tyre could have been used for longer stints than we generally saw. We always expect transverse graining on the rear tyres here, due to the traction demands of the circuit layout, but we were surprised at how well our tyres resisted this. The drivers should have got good satisfaction from our tyres today, and I am happy with this.”

[Rob]

Michelin or Pirelli to supply F1 tyres - Domenicali www.onestopstrategy.com

Sunday 16 May at 20:01 : May 16 (GMM) Stefano Domenicali on Sunday indicated that Avon-Cooper and Bridgestone are no longer in the running to supply formula one tyres next year.

The Ferrari boss was discussing with the media Sunday's series of meetings at Monaco, where a decision about the departing Bridgestone's 2011 replacement was again deferred.

"It will probably take another week," the Italian is quoted by Germany's Motorsport-Magazin.com. "Perhaps next weekend."

Avon was among those who have submitted formal proposals, and in recent days the teams have been pushing Bridgestone to reconsider its decision not to seek a new contract as the sport's official sole supplier.

But Domenicali revealed: "There are only two possibilities; Michelin and Pirelli."

Pirelli.

[Rob]

Tyre problems 'unlikely' in Valencia

Bridgestone is not expecting teams to face the same acute tyre challenges that they struggled with in Canada when Formula 1 reconvenes in Valencia next weekend.

The Montreal event proved to be the most demanding of the season so far in terms of tyre degradation, with teams having to pit twice or even three times rather than the usual once, and the balance of power shifting constantly depending on how successful their tyre management was.

Drivers found their tyres graining within a handful of laps in the early part of the race, although the problem eased as the race went on, more rubber was laid down on the track surface and lightening fuel loads put less strain on the tyres.

The Valencia street course has similar characteristics to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with long straights linking mostly slow corners, and Bridgestone has chosen the same super-soft and medium compounds.

But the Japanese company believes Valencia’s more grippy and abrasive surface will present fewer headaches for the teams.

“The layout and track surface is more aggressive to the tyres than in Montreal so we do not expect the same challenge for teams to get maximum performance from the medium and super-soft compounds as in Canada,” said Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone’s director of motorsport tyre development.

The expected hot weather should also make graining less likely.

“This year’s European Grand Prix takes place in June, as opposed to the late August date of the first two grands prix in Valencia, but we don’t believe the date change will present us with radically different weather,” noted Hamashima.

The tyre troubles in Montreal ironically contributed to one of the best races of the season, and in a recent itv.com/f1 poll two-thirds of respondents said they would like to see big variations in tyre compounds to become the norm in F1, as was the case when the sport had multiple tyre suppliers.

[Rob]

2010 European Grand Prix Preview
18/06/2010 Streets ahead in Valencia...

Bridgestone heads to Valencia for the ninth race of the season where Bridgestone’s medium and super soft compound Potenza tyres will take to the streets of Spain’s third largest city.

The 5.42km Valencia street course, located in the port area of the city, is a relatively high speed street course and incorporates a bridge in its layout. Twenty five corners and several sections where speeds are around 300 km/h mean a track where finding a good set-up compromise can be a challenge. The non-permanent nature of the facility means that track surface evolution is likely to be a factor over the weekend.


Looking forward to exciting race at Valencia
“The Valencia Street Course is a good addition to the calendar and it is great to see this race establish itself on the calendar. Spain is one of our most important markets so it is very useful for us to visit here twice a year. Bridgestone Spain utilises motorsport well and this helps with our strong brand image. We are hopeful of an exciting race weekend in this wonderful Spanish city.”
Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport


Valencia Street Course includes high speed sections and many corners
“From a riverside street course in Canada we now head to a seaside street course in Europe. In common with the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the Valencia Street Course has several high speed sections, however it has more corners. The layout and track surface is more aggressive to the tyres than in Montreal so we do not expect the same challenge for teams to get maximum performance from the medium and super soft compounds as in Canada. This year’s European Grand Prix takes place in June, as opposed to the late August date of the first two Grands Prix in Valencia but we don’t believe the date change will present us with radically different weather.”
Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development

"This year’s European Grand Prix takes place in June, as opposed to the late August date of the first two Grands Prix in Valencia but we don’t believe the date change will present us with radically different weather.”

Stats & Facts
Number & Spec of tyres brought to Valencia: 2000 (Medium, super soft, intermediate/wets)
Pole position time 2009: 1min 39.498secs (Vettel)
Fastest race lap 2009: 1min 38.683secs (Glock)
Top three 2009: Barrichello, Hamilton, Raikkonen

[Rob]

Hockenheim hosts round eleven

Formula 1 continues the second half of the season with a radical tyre allocation approach for the German Grand Prix where Bridgestone’s hard and super soft compound Potenza tyres will be used.

The tyres from the extreme ends of Bridgestone’s dry allocation can be brought to the Hockenheim track due to its characteristics being in the middle range in terms of layout and track surface severity of those experienced through the season. The 4.574 km track is a compromise circuit in terms of having high speeds for much of the lap allied to a much lower speed final section.

German is an important market for Bridgestone
“Germany is one of the biggest and most important automotive markets in Europe, so it is imperative that Bridgestone has a strong presence here. It is interesting for us to alternate between races at Nurburgring and Hockenheim. Our local market works hard in Germany and our tyres have received many accolades in this market. We have recently seen a significant increase in the television audience figures as there are several German drivers this year, and of course the return of Michael Schumacher has had a positive impact. I am also interested to see the effects of bringing the hard and super soft compounds to this race.”
Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport

Super soft and hard tyres taken to Hockenheim
“This will be the first time that we have raced at Hockenheim with slicks since 1997, and the circuit configuration then was very different. The circuit layout features a long left hander before the hairpin where it is important to have good stability. After the hairpin, there are strong traction demands on the rear tyres. Elsewhere, a good overall balance is required. We have a unique opportunity with the nature of the Hockenheim circuit allowing us to bring the softest and the hardest tyres from our range. This should provide a challenge for everyone and should be interesting. The weather will play a factor too. If it is hot then the super soft will be a challenge to manage for stability and durability. If it is cold then ensuring the hard is in its temperature operating window will be a tough task.”
Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development

Stats & Facts
Number & Spec of tyres brought to Hockenheim: 2000 (Hard, super soft, intermediate/wets)
Pole position time 2008: 1min 15.666secs (Hamilton)
Fastest race lap 2008: 1min 15.987secs (Heidfeld)
Top three 2008: Hamilton, Piquet, Massa

[Rob]

Tyres tipped to spice up Hockenheim

By Edd Straw Wednesday, July 21st 2010, 09:51 GMT www.autosport.com

The German Grand Prix could be spiced up by Bridgestone's decision to allocate super soft and hard tyre compounds, according to Williams technical director Sam Michael.

Bridgestone has opted to supply its softest and hardest tyres for the race in the hope of creating a more exciting contest. Tyre degradation played a key role in making the Canadian Grand Prix a multi-stop, and therefore unpredictable, race and there is hope that the German GP could produce a similar spectacle.

"It will be good for the racing," Michael told AUTOSPORT. "It's possible that there will be more than one pitstop. We've seen that happen at other tracks, so it could definitely happen.

"It has got the potential to throw things up in the air. It's a long time since we've seen tyre blistering on the Bridgestones, so that's probably not going to happen, but it's going to be interesting."

Michael added that the capacity to make differing strategies work is key to making the races more unpredictable.

He pointed to the long first stints on prime tyres that several drivers used to good effect at last week's British Grand Prix as an example of how strategic alternatives can influence the results.

"That's what was good about Silverstone; you could make something different work, which is what Jenson Button and Nico Hulkenberg did. That's pretty rare though. I'm not sure that's going to happen again

[Rob]

Medium and Super Soft tyres taken to Hungary

Bridgestone heads to the tight and twisty Hungaroring with the medium and super soft Potenza tyres for round twelve of the championship, the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 30 – August 1. After taking tyres from the extremes of the dry tyre range to Germany, Bridgestone reverts to a one step gap with the allocation for this race. The medium and super soft allocation was previously used in Bahrain, Monaco and Canada.

Although the 4.381 km Hungaroring is a permanent race track, its layout resembles that of a street course. The track surface is generally slippery, particularly at the beginning of the race weekend.


Hungary is an interesting market for Bridgestone
“The Hungaroring holds many good motorsport memories for Bridgestone as we came very close to seeing a victory on our tyres in our very first season with Damon Hill in 1997 driving for Arrows. Today, Hungary is an interesting market for Bridgestone. We have a factory in Tatabanya which uses the Bridgestone BIRD system. This is the Bridgestone Innovative and Rational Development system which shows how we are pushing innovative technology and shows our passion for excellence in all that we do.”
Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport


Hoping for a good race at Hungaroring

“The Hungaroring is a challenging circuit even though it is one of the shortest on the calendar. We expect to hear a lot of discussion about the track surface at the beginning of the weekend, as the circuit is not used as much as some, so the surface is quite dirty for the first sessions. We can expect to see some graining on Friday because of this. The ambient and track temperatures are often very hot here, but as the surface is quite smooth and there are no very high lateral forces we don’t expect overheating to be too much of an issue if the tyres are managed well. Finding the maximum traction through the last corner is very important as it enables a good top speed on the short straight, leading into the first corner, where there is the main overtaking opportunity on the circuit. This is a track where Bridgestone came very close to winning a race in our first season in the sport, so we hope we see a good race in our final visit here.”
Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development

[Rob]

Bridgestone, the Official Tyre Supplier to the FIA Formula One World Championship, is pleased to announce the compound allocations of Potenza tyres for the final four rounds of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Teams have been informed of the compounds to be brought to the four races from the Japanese Grand Prix on October 10 to the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 14.

A gap of one step between compounds features for each of the final four tyre allocations. The first-ever Korean Grand Prix will feature the hard and soft compound Bridgestone Potenza tyres.

Lessons learnt on track help with tyre decisions
“The most interesting question for these final allocations is which tyres will we bring to Korea? As always for a new race we work closely with the FIA, the circuit and the teams to reach our decision but in addition to all this information we always have safety in mind so our allocation for the first race in Korea will naturally be on the conservative side. The tyres for Korea are currently being shipped to the track and we are very interested to see this new facility when we go there in seven weeks time. Suzuka puts the tyres through a tough workout so we have the harder combination of hard and soft, whilst Sao Paulo and Yas Marina suit the softer combination of super soft and medium. Due to the nature of the tracks, there were no further opportunities for a hard – super soft allocation, although we did evaluate this after the lessons learnt at Hockenheim.”
Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone Head of Motorsport Tyre Development

[Rob]

Bridgestone says farewell to F1 in Europe
20/09/2010 A successful 14 years of F1 in Europe

After competing successfully for 14 years in motor racing’s top international circuit series, Bridgestone Europe celebrated its Formula 1 partnership in Monza on 10th September, during the Italian Grand Prix weekend.

More than 170 guests from Formula 1 racing teams, the press and Bridgestone companies attended the Paddock Club event marking the final Grand Prix in Europe on Bridgestone tyres under the present contract.

The centre-piece of the evening was a high-profile Q&A session with leading F1 personalities including Bridgestone past and present champions Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. Racing team principals Martin Whitmarsh of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, Ross Brawn of Mercedes GP Petronas and Stefano Domenicali of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro joined the drivers on stage while a host of fellow team principals and senior team management also added their weight to the occasion.

Bridgestone celebrated with Q&A and photography competition

On TV display in the Bridgestone Paddock Club suite were 20 selected photographs (out of more than 150 entries) illustrating Bridgestone’s strong involvement with Formula 1, submitted by F1 affiliated photographers in a photo contest organised by Bridgestone. The top 3 winning photographers were announced during the evening by Hiroshi Yasukawa, Director, Bridgestone Motorsport.

Between 1997 and 2010, Bridgestone will have equipped no fewer than 11 Driver and Constructor winners of the FIA Formula One World Championship. By the end of the 2010 season, drivers on Bridgestone Potenza tyres will have achieved 175 wins, 168 pole positions and 170 astest laps.

Bridgestone has also been sole supplier to the GP2 and GP2 Asia Series, helping to develop tomorrow’s world champions.


Thank you to everyone involved in Bridgestone's F1 operation
"With this event Bridgestone Europe wished to recognise and thank the large number of dedicated professionals who have helped Bridgestone achieve such a high level of success in 14 years of Formula 1 racing around the world"
Des Collins, Vice President, European Communications Office, Bridgestone Europe

thankyou Bridgestone hope last 5 races are good ones and tyres make good racing for great send off.

[Rob]

Bridgestone heads home to Japan for the glorious delights of the Suzuka circuit where the hard and soft Potenza tyres will be put through their paces for the sixteenth round of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix on October 8-10.

With the championship battle getting ever closer to its conclusion, extracting the maximum performance from Bridgestone’s tyres over the 5.8 km of Suzuka’s sweeping bends will be crucial for a good result.


Suzuka is a fabulous venue
“This will be the final opportunity for Formula 1 to be showcased with Bridgestone in our home market and we are looking forward to many promotional activities for our final visit. Suzuka is a fabulous motorsport venue which has great importance in Japanese motor racing history. We look forward to one of the most challenging circuits on the calendar. We also expect many Japanese fans to enjoy the spectacle at the track and millions of people to enjoy this race worldwide.”
Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport


Emotional return to Suzuka

“Suzuka is a wonderful circuit and one which is very challenging for drivers and tyre engineers alike. As we found last year, there is a newer track surface on the east side of the circuit and this delivers different grip levels from those found on the older surface of the west side. The nature of the track with its figure of eight configuration tests the cars all round handling characteristics and all four tyres will be subject to many stresses. A set-up which gets the best from traction and grip, whilst allowing quick changes of direction from the tyres is required at Suzuka. This circuit is also the ‘mother circuit’ for Bridgestone’s Formula 1 tyres. It is here where we first tested and developed our tyres for Formula 1 over 14 years ago, so it is emotional for us to return here in the final year of our Formula 1 participation.”
Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development

Stats & Facts
Number & Spec of tyres brought to Suzuka: 2000 (Hard, soft, intermediate/wets)
Pole position time 2009: 1min 32.160secs (Vettel)
Fastest race lap 2009: 1min 32.569secs (Webber)
Top three 2009: Vettel, Trulli, Hamilton

[Rob]

Bridgestone Motorsport’s Saturday Update
09/10/2010 Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari set the fastest time on a day of limited track running due to wet weather conditions at Suzuka leading to a delayed and then postponed qualifying session.

Alguersuari completed nine laps on track in the morning practice session, whilst Virgin Racing driver Timo Glock was the only other driver to complete a timed lap on the rain lashed circuit. Qualifying is now scheduled to take place at 10:00 hrs local time on Sunday ahead of a
15:00 hrs race start.

Hiroshi Yasukawa –Director of Bridgestone Motorsport says:
“I would like to thank all the fans who came to Suzuka today despite the very wet weather conditions. Even despite the weather many people enjoyed our activities on the Bridgestone stage in the fan zone where many drivers made appearances. We hope that everyone is rewarded with a full and exciting day of qualifying and race action tomorrow.”

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development

What was significant about today’s running?

“There was very little track action due to the extreme weather with continual heavy rain throughout the afternoon. We saw some very limited running in the morning however qualifying was first delayed and then postponed due to the amount of water on track. Every driver did complete at least an installation lap, and all reported aquaplaning due to the number of deep puddles and amount of water streaming across the track. The decision to postpone qualifying was the correct one as it was too wet, even for our wet weather Formula 1 tyre.”

What are the tyre strategy considerations for tomorrow’s race?
“We will have to look to the skies. If there is no rain we will face a clean track from the rain, but without the benefit of laid rubber so it will be an evolving track surface. If there is rain I hope it will not be as hard as today. Our wet tyre can displace 61 litres per second of water when fitted to an F1 car travelling at 300kph, but this afternoon there was too much water even for these tyres.”

[Rob]

2010 Korean F1 Grand Prix Preview
15/10/2010 Formula One heads to Korea for the first time

Bridgestone heads to a new Formula 1 destination as it takes its hard and soft compound Potenza tyres to the first ever Korean Grand Prix at Yeongam near the city of Mokpo on October 22-24.

The all-new Korean International Circuit will give teams and drivers a real challenge as it has never previously held a motorsport event. This means that the teams and Bridgestone will have to rely on simulation data before taking to the track for the first time on the Friday of the Grand Prix.

Korea is an exciting economy
“It is always good when Formula 1 visits a new market and Korea is an exciting economy with strong growth. Bridgestone have a developing presence in this market, however the additional marketing push provided by our presence at the first ever Grand Prix there should be highly beneficial. Congratulations to Korea for welcoming Formula 1. We are looking forward to seeing the Yeongam facility for the first time and meeting many Korean Formula 1 fans.”
Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport


Korea will be a good test of technology

“This Grand Prix presents everyone in Formula one with an interesting challenge as the circuit has only recently been completed. This means that we cannot look at any data from races there so we have to rely on simulation data. From this information, the maximum and average speeds will be 310 km/h and 205 km/h respectively. This places the track between Catalunya and Istanbul and close to Sepang in terms of speed, which is an important factor determining the allocation of the hard and soft tyres. Korea should be a good test of all of our technology and I expect all the team engineers to be working very hard indeed over the weekend trying to understand the best car set-ups and tyre strategies for the race. As it will be the first motor racing event at the facility we expect a lot of track surface evolution over the weekend. It will also be interesting to see how the teams and individual drivers adapt to this track, particularly those in the hunt for the championship battle.”
Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development

Stats & Facts

Number & Spec of tyres brought to Yeongam: 2000 (Hard, soft, intermediate/wets)

[Rob]

Bridgestone Motorsport’s Korean Grand Prix Report
24/10/2010

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver Fernando Alonso scored his fifth win of the season after using a wet – wet – intermediate Bridgestone Potenza tyre strategy in a dramatic first-ever Korean Grand Prix.

Alonso won the rain delayed and suspended race which started and restarted behind the safety car. All drivers began on Bridgestone’s wet tyres and were able to change to the intermediate tyres as conditions improved once racing began.

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton finished second and Alonso’s team-mate Felipe Massa took third, both using the same tyre strategy as Alonso. Red Bull Racing’s championship contenders, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel both failed to finish.

Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, says

“Today we witnessed a great first ever Korean Grand Prix and I am proud of Bridgestone’s contribution. Congratulations to Fernando and Ferrari for their win and also to Lewis for his good charge to second place. Also it is good to see Felipe back on the podium and Michael finish in fourth. This was a tough event and I must praise the FIA, the organisers, officials and marshals at the track as well as the teams for maintaining professionalism throughout. The organisers have done a fantastic job to bring Formula 1 to this new and exciting market and I think many fans here and around the world enjoyed this superb race.”

Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, says

“There was so much drama and anticipation today! The delays were frustrating for all but safety is everyone’s primary concern and the visibility was too poor to race. Both the intermediate and wet tyre performed very well and we saw Fernando manage his tyres excellently to maintain good pace right to the finish line. This was Bridgestone’s first and last Korean Grand Prix and I will be proud of the performance of all of our specifications of tyres over the weekend here in Yeongam.”

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[Rob]

Vettel wins at Bridgestone's last race

Bridgestone’s final Formula 1 race saw an epic and exciting Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel taking his fifth win of the season to become the youngest-ever Formula 1 world champion.

Vettel won by using a Bridgestone Potenza super soft – medium tyre strategy. He was joined on the podium by both Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers, 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton and outgoing champion, Jenson Button, also using the same strategy.

It was a thrilling conclusion to Bridgestone’s 14 year tenure in Formula 1. During this time, 11 drivers’ and constructors’ championships, 175 race wins, 170 fastest laps and 168 pole positions were achieved on the 700,000 Bridgestone Potenza Formula 1 tyres produced.

Congratulations to Sebastian and thank you to our supporters
“Congratulations to Sebastian Vettel for snatching the drivers’ championship in such a strong fashion today. This is our last race, but it comes at the end of a fantastic season where there has been a great championship battle as a fitting finale to all the drama and excitement we have enjoyed over the past 14 seasons. Our brand awareness has grown tremendously in this period and our worldwide sales companies have supported us with numerous activities and events. In addition to thanking all the Bridgestone personnel I would like to thank everyone in Formula 1 for all the friendships and support we have enjoyed over the years. Thank you also to all the Formula 1 and motorsport fans around the world, I hope you have enjoyed our passion for excellence.”

Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport


Great final race on Bridgestone Potenza tyres
“Today was a race where Bridgestone Potenza tyres allowed a variety of strategies, great tension and immense excitement right up to the chequered flag. It was appropriate that the driver with the most pole positions won the championship. Sebastian Vettel is a driver who often speaks to the Bridgestone engineers to understand how to get the most from our tyres and his ability has been highlighted many times this season, not least today. Both compounds performed well. Jenson showed that the super soft could be durable if managed well and Robert showed the value of the reverse strategy from the frontrunners. Formula 1 has been a worthwhile, valuable and satisfying project for Bridgestone and I would like to thank everyone who has been involved over the past 14 years. Thank you.”
Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development