Bridgestone

Formula 1 Team reports for the 2009 F1 season includes race previews, reports and reviews
Ed
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Post by Ed » Sun Aug 23, 2009 12:44 am

Bridgestone Motorsport’s Saturday Update

Bridgestone’s super soft tyre provided the grip for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton to qualify on pole position with a time of 1min 39.498secs for tomorrow’s European Grand Prix in Valencia.
Bridgestone’s soft and super soft tyres coped well with track temperatures of up to 45 degrees Celsius today, and the track surface improvement saw a corresponding tyre performance improvement, meaning lap times continued to fall. Force India driver Adrian Sutil set the fastest time in the morning practice session, using the super soft tyre to set a time of 1min 39.143secs. Running was suspended for 25 minutes of the session whilst the circuit surface was treated after Vettel’s car dropped fluid.

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development
What was significant about today’s running?
“Today we saw a further improvement from the track, even though we did lose almost half an hour of running in the morning practice session. There was a good improvement in tyre performance from both tyres related to the track improvement so we have good confidence for tomorrow. To see a KERS car on pole makes things interesting, as it is difficult to imagine a non-KERS car getting ahead at the start.”

What are the tyre strategy considerations for tomorrow’s race?
“The super soft tyre is around 0.3-0.4 seconds faster than the soft tyre, however it is more susceptible to the transverse graining that we see here. The track improvement today however means that the super soft looks better than it did yesterday for its race duties, so actual strategy choices tomorrow will be interesting. To assist us with data we will analyse the strategies in today’s GP2 Series race too. Looking at today’s skies, I do not think we will have need of Bridgestone’s intermediate and wet tyres for the race.”

Stats of the Day
Practice Three 11:00 – 12:00
Driver Team Time Tyre
Adrian Sutil Force India F1 Team 1m 39.143s SS
Kazuki Nakajima AT&T Williams 1m 39.247s SS
Robert Kubica BMW Sauber F1 Team 1m 39.513s SS

Qualifying 14:00 – 15:00
Driver Team Time Tyre
Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m 39.498s SS
Heikki Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m 39.532s SS
Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP Formula 1 Team 1m 39.563s SS
Compounds used: Soft / Super Soft

Temperatures Ambient Track Weather
Practice AM 29C-30C 37C-41C Sunny
Qualifying PM 31C-32C 45C Sunny

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Post by Ed » Mon Aug 24, 2009 1:57 am

Bridgestone Motorsport’s European Grand Prix Report

Rubens Barrichello (Brawn GP Formula 1 Team) used a soft-soft-super soft strategy to achieve the 150th GP win on Bridgestone Potenza tyres after a thrilling European Grand Prix in Valencia. Barrichello took his tenth career win in a highly tactical race, where Bridgestone’s soft and super soft tyres were closely matched. He led pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) across the line by 2.3 seconds whilst Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver Kimi Raikkonen finished third.

Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, says
“Congratulations to Rubens on taking the 150th win on Bridgestone Potenza F1 tyres. We are very proud to have supported so many drivers in their Formula One World Championship victories over the past 13 seasons but it is apt that Rubens, who has been on Bridgestone tyres for all but a season since we entered in 1997, should take this special victory. When Bridgestone started as a tyre supplier to Formula One it was on slick tyres. Since then, there have been several evolutions in tyre technologies and specifications but throughout we have received the fantastic support of the teams, FIA and FOM. We have also seen tremendous growth in the brand awareness of our company around the globe and much of this can be attributed to our F1 related activities. We would like to thank all involved in F1 for their support. We are now in the second of a three year Official Tyre Supplier tenure and look forward to seeing many more exciting battles on our tyres.”

Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, says
“I am very happy to see Rubens win. He first used our F1 tyres in 1997 so it is fantastic that he still has the competitive spirit to win in this highly competitive sport. We are pleased with the performance of both the soft and the super soft Bridgestone Potenzas today. The circuit improved very rapidly, as expected, and as a result drivers could be competitive using the super soft over a stint at the start. The soft was the more consistent tyre however, and we even saw one-stop strategies. Regarding Kazuki Nakajima’s tyre, we believe it was a puncture and we are investigating this with the team.”

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Post by Ed » Fri Aug 28, 2009 8:46 pm

Bridgestone Motorsport Belgian Grand Prix Preview

Bridgestone will bring the medium and soft tyres for the Belgian Grand Prix on August 28-30 which takes place on the longest circuit of the year, the 7 km Spa Francorchamps circuit. Located in the forests of the Ardennes region, the challenge of the Spa circuit is legendary. It features 19 corners and offers a real high speed challenge over its undulating course. This is the first time that the medium and soft tyres have been used in a consecutive allocation for a race.

Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, said: Belgium is the home of Bridgestone Europe so in many ways the Belgian Grand Prix is like a home race for us. Bridgestone Europe employs more than 13000 people throughout Europe, spread between eight tyre plants, one technical centre/proving ground and different national sales organisations. In Belgium itself the Bridgestone Group employs 1100 persons as well as hosts the headquarters of Bridgestone Europe and subsidiary, Bandag Europe. Spa is a fantastic circuit to visit as it has so much history and we are looking forward to an exciting race there.”

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development
What are the challenges of Spa?
“Spa is a classic race circuit. It is fast and also has some interesting technical challenges over the course of a lap, and a lap here is longer than anywhere else we visit during the course of a season.
There are very long high speed sections, with fast corners. Despite being a fast circuit, the downforce levels used on the cars is quite high, meaning heavy loads are transferred through the tyres. There is significant gradient change over a lap too. Eau Rouge is a very fast corner and the compression at the bottom of the corner means a lot of force through the tyres. Here sufficient tyre pressure is critical.”

What are the primary tyre performance considerations?
“In tyre terms this is a severe circuit. High loads are put through the tyres during a lap. It can be quite cold here, so getting initial heat into the tyres could be a challenge, especially with the higher temperature working range medium compound. We must not, of course, forget the weather. We have seen wet races many times at Spa. Because it is a long course you can have one part dry, one part wet. Tyre choice during the course of the race could well be the deciding factor.”

Stats & Facts
Number & Spec of tyres brought to Spa 1800 (Medium & soft dry. Intermediate/wets)
Pole position time 2008: 1min 47.338secs (Hamilton)
Fastest race lap 2008: 1min 47.930secs (Raikkonen)
Top three 2008: Massa, Heidfeld, Hamilton

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Post by Ed » Sat Aug 29, 2009 11:16 am

Bridgestone Motorsport’s Friday Update

Bridgestone’s soft tyre proved to be the fastest rubber on the undulating Spa Francorchamps circuit for the first day of running for the Belgian Grand Prix. In a day of mixed weather conditions, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton set the day’s fastest time in the dry afternoon practice session.

This session illustrated the potential for a close race, with the top 18 cars separated by under a second. Jarno Trulli (Panasonic Toyota Racing) was the fastest driver in the morning practice session, setting a time of 1min 49.675secs on the medium compound tyre. Most of this morning session was run in wet conditions, meaning that Bridgestone’s intermediate and wet tyres were used. This was first time that the latest specification intermediate has seen extensive use.

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development
What was significant about today’s running?
“Today illustrates what can happen in Spa with the weather. We all expected a dry day, yet this morning we saw a wet circuit. This was good for Bridgestone as we could evaluate the performance of our latest specification intermediate tyre relative to the wet tyre. We are pleased to say our initial performance feedback and data has been as anticipated. In the afternoon we had good running with the dry tyres.”

How do you expect this allocation to work over the weekend?
“Spa is an interesting circuit and its characteristics mean that both tyres work well, even though they have different temperature working ranges. Because of this we saw that the medium and soft tyres delivered very close fastest lap times, and most of the field was very close together. We expect to see more tyre evaluation take place tomorrow. We did hear different driver comments relating to the feeling from the tyres, and this is a circuit where driver confidence is very important. We didn’t see graining on either compound so this highlights that both tyres could deliver strong performance if we have a dry race.”

Stats of the Day
Practice One 10:00 – 11:30
Driver Team Time Tyre
Jarno Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing 1m 49.675s M
Jenson Button Brawn GP Formula 1 Team 1m 50.283s M
Fernando Alonso ING Renault F1 Team 1m 50.368s M

Practice Two 14:00 – 15:30
Driver Team Time Tyre
Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m 47.201s S
Timo Glock Panasonic Toyota Racing 1m 47.217s S
Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1m 47.285s S

Compounds used: Medium / Soft / Intermediate / Wet
Temperatures Ambient Track Weather
AM – Practice 1 19C-16C 20C-18C Cloudy / Drizzle / Rain
PM – Practice 2 19C-20C-19C 26C-29C-26C Sunny

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Post by Ed » Sun Aug 30, 2009 1:35 am

Bridgestone Motorsport’s Saturday Update

Bridgestone’s soft tyre carried Giancarlo Fisichella to Force India’s first ever pole position for tomorrow’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps. Fisichella completed a 1min 46.308secs lap for his first pole since the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2006 and tomorrow will see an all Italian front row after Jarno Trulli (Panasonic Toyota Racing) qualified second. BMW Sauber F1 Team driver Nick Heidfeld used Bridgestone’s medium tyre in the morning practice session to go fastest. Weather conditions were quite variable today and the performances of the Bridgestone medium and soft compounds were very close.

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development
What was significant about today’s running?
“Today was fascinating from a tyre perspective and it was also a wonderful day for Force India and Giancarlo Fisichella for their pole position. Choosing between the two tyres here has been very temperature dependent, making it difficult for teams to decide which to use. This was particularly true in qualifying, as track temperature changed considerably. The soft compound worked very well with the lighter fuel loads of Q1 and Q2, however the heavier cars of Q3 tended towards the medium tyre.”

What are the tyre strategy considerations for tomorrow’s race?
“The tyres are very close together on ultimate lap time, with the soft giving better grip, but the medium giving better stability. Just like Friday, we could not find any graining today and this means that both compounds are working well. Because of the close performance of the tyres we believe there will be a wide range of strategy possibilities for tomorrow’s race, and we will be interested to see what happens.”

Stats of the Day
Practice Three 11:00 – 12:00
Driver Team Time Tyre
Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1 Team 1m 45.388s M
Jarno Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing 1m 45.462s S
Adrian Sutil Force India F1 Team 1m 45.677s M

Qualifying 14:00 – 15:00
Driver Team Time Tyre
Giancarlo Fisichella Force India F1 Team 1m 46.308s S
Jarno Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing 1m 46.395s S
Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1 Team 1m 46.500s M

Compounds used: Medium / Soft
Temperatures Ambient Track Weather
AM – Practice 3 14C-15C 18C-20C Sunny / Partly cloudy
PM – Qualifying 16C-20C 20C-27C Cloudy / Sunny

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Post by Ed » Mon Aug 31, 2009 9:38 am

Bridgestone Motorsport’s Belgian Grand Prix Report

Kimi Raikkonen (Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro) used a soft – medium - soft tyre strategy to score his first race win of the season after a thrilling and tactical Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps. Raikkonen finished less than a second ahead of pole-sitter Giancarlo Fisichella who achieved Force India’s best ever result with second, using a soft-soft-medium tyre strategy. Sebastian Vettel used a medium-medium-soft tyre strategy to finish third.

Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, says
“Congratulations to Kimi Raikkonen and Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro for taking their first win of the year. Congratulations also to Giancarlo Fisichella and Force India for their fine second place. Today we saw a very exciting race, where Bridgestone’s tyres provided a vital ingredient. This is the home race for Bridgestone Europe, which is based in Brussels, so it is very good to have such a fine display from this wonderful sport for us here at the track, and for so many television viewers around the world.”

Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, says
“This has been a very interesting weekend from a tyre perspective, and this has provided a very exciting race. The medium and soft Bridgestone tyres were quite evenly matched for overall performance, and each podium finisher used a different strategy to achieve their result. Which tyre was best for which team depended on car characteristics, set-up and driver preference so we saw a good range of strategy choices. We did see some very small blisters today for the first time this season, so we can say that the tyres were worked hard at this track. We will use the same tyre allocation at Monza, so it will be interesting to see how the teams translate what they have learnt here to the next race.”

Stats of the Day
Race: 14:00 – 15:24
Driver Team Time Tyre Strategy
Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1h 23m 50.995s S-M-S
Giancarlo Fisichella Force India F1 Team 1h 23m 51.934s S-S-M
Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1h 23m 54.870s M-M-S

Tyres used: Medium / Soft
Temperatures Ambient Track Weather
PM – Race 17C 26C-24C Partly cloudy

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Post by Ed » Sat Sep 12, 2009 11:58 am

Bridgestone Motorsport’s Friday Update

Bridgestone’s soft tyre proved to be the fastest rubber at the high speed and historic motor sports destination of Monza for the first day of the Italian Grand Prix. Under glorious blue skies Force India driver Adrian Sutil set a 1min 23.924secs time in the afternoon practice session.
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was the fastest in the morning session, using the medium compound to set a time of 1min 23.936secs. In this session only Giancarlo Fisichella in his Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro debut made use of the soft compound tyre, with all other competitors only using the medium compound.

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development
What was significant about today’s running?
“Today was interesting as this was the first time that we have run in Monza this season. Historically, there would be a test here before the race weekend, so today was the first time that the teams have used their special low drag and lower downforce Monza configurations. Additionally, the revised kerbs have changed the nature of the lap, so this was another factor to consider today. Despite this, lap times were once more very close, with the top twelve cars this afternoon separated by a second.”

How do you expect this allocation to work over the weekend?
“It is still too early for us to make strong predictions. The track is still improving and there were many different chassis set-ups and aerodynamic configurations used today which makes tyre comparison difficult. What we can say is that both compounds have worked well today. We haven’t seen any graining and there were no other particular tyre issues. As the times are so close the smallest mistake by a driver or in car set-up will make a big difference in qualifying tomorrow.”

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Post by Ed » Sun Sep 13, 2009 1:40 am

Bridgestone Motorsport’s Saturday Update

Bridgestone’s soft tyre carried Lewis Hamilton (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) to his second pole position of the season for tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Hamilton set a time of 1min 24.066secs in the last moments of a very close qualifying session. Force India F1 Team driver Adrian Sutil was second fastest and also earlier set the fastest time in the morning practice session, using the soft Bridgestone Potenza.

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development
What was significant about today’s running?
“Today we had an interesting result in qualifying and I think that the difference in lap times in Q3 means that there will be different fuel strategies for tomorrow’s race. The times through the day, apart from in Q3, were very close so competitors are using our tyres well here in Monza. Congratulations to Lewis for his second pole of the year, to Adrian for getting on the front row, and also to Vitantonio Liuzzi for qualifying in the top ten on his return to Formula One.”

What are the tyre strategy considerations for tomorrow’s race?
“Both the soft and medium Potenza have worked well here at Monza so far this weekend and we have no reason to expect any issues in the race. We have not seen graining and there has not been blistering either. This means that strategy options are very open. A one stop strategy is possible with our tyres so it will be interesting to see if this is used.”

Stats of the Day
Practice Three 11:00 – 12:00
Driver Team Time Tyre
Adrian Sutil Force India F1 Team 1m 23.336s S
Jenson Button Brawn GP Formula 1 Team 1m 23.404s S
Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1 Team 1m 23.490s S

Qualifying 14:00 – 15:00
Driver Team Time Tyre
Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m 24.066s S
Adrian Sutil Force India F1 Team 1m 24.261s S
Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1m 24.523s S

Compounds used: Medium / Soft

Temperatures Ambient Track Weather
AM – Practice 3 25C-26C 31C-35C Sunny
PM – Qualifying 27C 39C-37C-39C Sunny

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Post by Ed » Mon Sep 14, 2009 1:24 am

Bridgestone Motorsport’s Italian Grand Prix Report

Rubens Barrichello (Brawn GP Formula 1 Team) used a medium - soft tyre strategy to score his second race win of the season after a thrilling and tactical high speed Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Barrichello finished over two seconds ahead of team-mate Jenson Button who used a soft - medium strategy. Kimi Raikkonen (Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro) finished third with a two stop strategy, soft – soft – medium.

Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, says
“Congratulations to Rubens for his second win of the season and Brawn GP for their fourth 1-2 finish this year. We saw an exciting race today and it was interesting to see how the different strategies worked. It is also always good to see a Ferrari driver on the podium on a glorious day in Italy. For Bridgestone, we were pleased that our Chairman of the Board, CEO and President, Mr Arakawa, and our other important guests were here to enjoy this great display from Formula One.”

Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, says
“This was a thrilling race with a fantastic strategic battle. Even though it was a one stop strategy that won the race, it is difficult to say whether a one or a two stop was better. Both Bridgestone Potenza compounds gave very similar overall performance so there was a good variety of different strategy uses. For Brawn GP in their championship battle this was a good day. We must also mention the fighting spirit of reigning champion Lewis Hamilton who pushed very hard right to the final lap where he was unfortunate not to finish.”

Stats of the Day
Race: 14:00 – 15:16
Driver Team Time Tyre Strategy
Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP Formula 1 Team 1h 16m 21.706s M-S
Jenson Button Brawn GP Formula 1 Team 1h 16m 24.572s S-M
Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1h 16m 52.370s S-S-M

Tyres used: Medium / Soft
Temperatures Ambient Track Weather
PM – Race 26C-27C 36C-38C-37C Sunny

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Post by Ed » Fri Sep 25, 2009 7:18 pm

Bridgestone Motorsport Singapore Grand Prix Preview

Bridgestone will bring its soft and super soft Potenza tyres for the only night race of the 2009 FIA Formula One season, the Singapore Grand Prix, which takes place on September 25-27. This allocation has previously been used in Monaco, Budapest and Valencia and will suit the requirements of the 5.07km street course which weaves its way through the Marina Bay area of the sovereign city state.

Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, said:
“Last year’s Singapore Grand Prix was Formula One’s first ever night race and it was a tremendous success. Singapore is an important hub in Asia so having a race here is very beneficial for enhancing Bridgestone’s brand awareness in the region. We are looking forward to visiting Singapore once more and seeing many more fans introduced to this fantastic sport.”

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development
What are the challenges of Singapore?
“Last year was the first time we ran at Singapore and we learnt a lot. It is a street course so we will see a lot of circuit surface evolution and improvement as the track is first cleaned by cars running, then racing rubber is laid, meaning better grip. This makes finding a good set-up difficult as the track condition is a moving target.”

What are the primary tyre performance considerations?
“There are the usual considerations for a venue which is not solely designed for motor racing. This means we bring the softest tyres from our range, both of which are lower temperature working range tyres. Last year we saw that the track was quite bumpy. This adds an additional requirement for the suspension set-up as an uneven surface can bounce the tyre out of contact with the track, which means less grip.”

Stats & Facts
Number & Spec of tyres brought to Singapore 1800 (Soft & super soft dry. Intermediate/wets)
Pole position time 2008: 1min 44.801secs (Massa)
Fastest race lap 2008: 1min 45.599secs (Raikkonen)
Top three 2008: Alonso, Rosberg, Hamilton

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Post by Ed » Sat Sep 26, 2009 10:23 am

Bridgestone Motorsport’s Friday Update

Bridgestone’s super soft tyre proved to be the fastest rubber for the first running at night of the 2009 Formula One season as Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing) topped the timesheets at the Marina Bay street course in Singapore. Vettel set a 1min 48.650secs late in the second 90 minute session, as lap times dropped rapidly with the track surface improvement during the course of the hot and humid evening. Bridgestone’s soft tyre was the fastest in the first practice session where drivers tackled the slippery and dusty street course. Rubens Barrichello (Brawn GP Formula 1 Team) was quickest with a 1min 50.179secs.

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development
What was significant about today’s running?
“Just like last year we saw the track start very slippery. This was due a dusty surface and no rubber laid down. We saw a few drivers get caught out by these conditions; however the surface improved a lot during the evening. The lap times today were around three seconds slower than last year, and I think the reason for this is mainly due to the circuit revisions which have re-profiled turn 1 and turn 10, making them tighter and slower.”

How do you expect this allocation to work over the weekend?
“Lap times decreased considerably during the evening and we think that this will continue tomorrow. The constantly evolving surface makes it difficult for teams to find the perfect set-up which is a good challenge for them and could provide some interesting results tomorrow. The super soft is quicker than the soft however we do not have sufficient data yet to know the exact difference. Both compounds showed good appearance and we didn’t see any big issues with graining. We could see rear degradation on both, but this is likely to be due to the slippery conditions and this will improve as the track evolves.”

Stats of the Day
Practice One 18:00 – 19:30
Driver Team Time Tyre
Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP Formula 1 Team 1m 50.179s S
Jenson Button Brawn GP Formula 1 Team 1m 50.356s S
Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1m 50.416s S
Practice Two 21:30 – 23:00
Driver Team Time Tyre
Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1m 48.650s SS
Fernando Alonso Renault F1 Team 1m 48.924s SS
Heikki Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m 48.952s SS

Compounds used: Soft / Super soft
Temperatures Ambient Track Weather
PM – Practice 1 32C 37C-35C Dry
PM – Practice 2 31C 34C-33C Dry

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Post by Ed » Sun Sep 27, 2009 5:37 am

Bridgestone Motorsport’s Saturday Update

Bridgestone’s super soft tyre carried Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton to his third pole position of the season in the only night-time qualifying session of the year. Hamilton set a time of 1min47.891secs in a session which was red flagged after championship contender Rubens Barrichello (Brawn GP Formula 1 Team) hit the wall late in the session. Hamilton had earlier used the super soft tyre to go fastest in the Saturday practice session with a 1min47.632secs lap. The day’s fastest lap, a 1min 46.197secs, was set by AT&T Williams driver Nico Rosberg in Q2 using the super soft.

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development
What was significant about today’s running?
“We have to investigate the data in depth however it seems like circuit conditions might have continued to change quite quickly today. This means that some teams could have struggled to adjust their cars for the increased grip from the improved track surface. This means that car balance could alter, so it has been a difficult day once more here in Singapore due to the good challenge of this circuit.”

What are the tyre strategy considerations for tomorrow’s race?
“It is still very difficult to say exactly, and we did see a lot of track improvement through the race last year here. We continue to see more degradation from the super soft tyre, in particular at the rear, although the degradation does not initially look to be as much as yesterday. However, there are no easy answers here. I suspect that the teams will be working very hard analysing their data and deciding their strategies for tomorrow.”

Stats of the Day
Practice Three 19:00 – 20:00
Driver Team Time Tyre
Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m 47.632s SS
Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1m 47.909s SS
Nico Rosberg AT&T Williams 1m 48.332s S

Qualifying 22:00 – 23:00
Driver Team Time Tyre
Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m 47.891s SS
Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1m 48.204s SS
Nico Rosberg AT&T Williams 1m 48.348s SS

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Post by Ed » Mon Sep 28, 2009 2:19 am

Bridgestone Motorsport’s Singapore Grand Prix Report

Lewis Hamilton (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) used a soft – soft – super soft Bridgestone tyre strategy to slingshot away from his rivals in a scintillating and gruelling Singapore Grand Prix. Hamilton won Formula One’s only night race from pole by just under ten seconds from Panasonic Toyota Racing driver Timo Glock with Renault F1 Team driver Fernando Alonso finishing third. Most drivers used the same tyre strategy as Hamilton.

Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, says
“What a fantastic Grand Prix! We appreciate the great organisation required to put on such a race in this wonderful venue. Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton and Vodafone McLaren Mercedes for their second win of the season. Timo Glock will be very pleased with his second place, equalling Toyota’s best-ever result, and it is good to see strong performance from them heading to the Japanese Grand Prix. Renault and Fernando Alonso have also done very well to achieve a podium finish in such difficult circumstances.”

Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, says
“This was a long and gruelling race, only four minutes short of two hours duration. Over this time the circuit became cleaner and cleaner and more rubber was laid meaning a better track surface. This meant that degradation was better than seen earlier in the week. Indeed, brake degradation was a bigger concern for some competitors. Most drivers used the same tyre strategy; however with the information we have after the race, two stints using the super soft was a realistic option. Driver style and car set-up and characteristics defined the tyre performance on this difficult track. Nico Rosberg completed nearly half race distance on the super soft showing that it had solid durability today.”

Stats of the Day
Race: 20:00 – 21:56
Driver Team Time Tyre Strategy
Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1h 56m 06.337s S-S-SS
Timo Glock Panasonic Toyota Racing 1h 56m 15.971s S-S-SS
Fernando Alonso Renault F1 Team 1h 56m 22.961s S-S-SS

Tyres used: Soft / Super soft
Temperatures Ambient Track Weather
PM – Race 32C-30C 34C-32C Dry / Dark

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Post by Ed » Fri Oct 02, 2009 7:47 pm

Bridgestone Motorsport Japanese Grand Prix Preview

Bridgestone will bring the hard and soft compound Potenza tyres for Formula One’s return to the superb motor sport facility of Suzuka after two years’ absence for the Japanese Grand Prix on October 2-4.
The past two Japanese Grands Prix were held at Mount Fuji so this will be the first time that all of the current teams will race at this track exclusively on Bridgestone Potenza tyres.
The allocation of hard and soft was previously used in Sepang, Barcelona and Silverstone and it is a return to the concept of leaving a stiffness gap between allocated tyres.

Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, said:
“Bridgestone is a Japanese company so our home Grand Prix has special importance for us. It is also good to return to Suzuka as this venue has been the scene of so many great battles over the years. We will have many special guests and staff from our company attending this event so we are hopeful of an exciting race.”

Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, said:
What are the challenges of Suzuka?
“We last visited Suzuka in 2006 and a lot has changed in Formula One since then, so teams will have to work hard to understand the circuit with the latest specification cars and tyres. For the younger drivers this will be the first time they visit this circuit so they are set for a delight. The configuration is unique as it is a figure of eight and there are several high speed corners as well as a hairpin, so there is a lot to consider for car set-up and in the race.”

What are the primary tyre performance considerations?
“Interestingly, around half of the track has been resurfaced. The new surface on the east side is very smooth and gives good grip. The older surface on the west side gives less grip than the newer surface on the east side. We will not know exactly how this will affect performance until the cars are running, but it certainly will be a consideration. The circuit layout tests all four corners of the car so a good all-round set-up will need to be found. The best set-up will be the one which allows the best traction, grip and enable quick change of direction from the tyres.”

Stats & Facts
Number & Spec of tyres brought to Suzuka: 1800 (Hard & soft dry. Intermediate/wets)
Pole position time 2006: 1min 29.599secs (Massa)
Fastest race lap 2006: 1min 32.676secs (Alonso)
Top three 2006: Alonso, Massa, Fisichella

Ed
NewsOnF1 Editor
NewsOnF1 Editor
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Joined: Wed Jan 19, 2005 1:24 pm

Post by Ed » Fri Oct 02, 2009 7:49 pm

Bridgestone Motorsport’s Friday Update

Bridgestone’s intermediate tyre was the fastest rubber on Formula One’s return to the challenging and technical Suzuka Circuit as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Heikki Kovalainen set the fastest lap on the first day of the Japanese Grand Prix.
The morning practice, when Kovalainen set his time, took place on a wet but drying circuit. In the afternoon, continuous rain meant that only the final 30 minutes saw timed laps and only Bridgestone’s wet tyre was used. Adrian Sutil (Force India F1 Team) was the fastest driver. Not all drivers completed timed laps.

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development
What was significant about today’s running?
“Today we have learnt that our latest specification intermediate tyre works very well here. This tyre stood up well for around 20 laps when used on a drying track. The rain through most of the second session meant no running took place for the first hour. This makes the weekend very interesting as the teams have no data from the dry tyres today.”

How do you expect the allocation to work over the weekend?
“Any data learnt from this morning using the wet and intermediate tyres will be lost in translation for using the dry tyres if the weather is better tomorrow. If it is wet then we will have a very interesting day as the grid could be determined by a wet qualifying session. If it is dry it will also be very interesting as the teams will have to learn the hard and soft tyre performance with only limited track time. This gives the teams a big challenge, not just for qualifying but also for Sunday’s race.”

Stats of the Day

Practice One 10:00 – 11:30
Driver Team Time Tyre
Heikki Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m 40.356s I
Kazuki Nakajima AT&T Williams 1m 40.648s I
Adrian Sutil Force India F1 Team 1m 40.806s I

Practice Two 14:00 – 15:30
Driver Team Time Tyre
Adrian Sutil Force India F1 Team 1m 47.261s W
Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1m 47.923s W
Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India F1 Team 1m 47.931s W

Compounds used: Wet / Intermediate
Temperatures Ambient Track Weather
AM – Practice 1 22C-21C-22C 23C Overcast
PM – Practice 2 22C 23C Rain / drizzle

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