Bridgestone Pleased With Tyres at Australian Grand Prix

Bridgestone is reportedly pleased with the performance of their 2007 season Formula One tyres in Melbourne, the tyremaker’s first Grand Prix as sole tyre supplier. According to the FIA, Bridgestone’s head of track engineering operations Kees van de Grint commented he was “very satisfied with the outcome we have seen in this first race of the season.”

“We fitted more than 1800 tyres this weekend for which we had to increase our staff,” added van de Grint. “Everybody worked very hard, but in good Japanese tradition there is always room to improve.”

In line with this year’s F1 regulations, Bridgestone supplied every team with two tyre compounds, medium and soft, for the Melbourne race. With the rules stipulating that all drivers use both specifications during the race, the majority of drivers – 14 out of 22 – chose to utilise the medium compound tyres during the earlier stages of the race, before switching to the softer rubber during the final laps.

“Both specifications of tyres performed as our simulations predicted,” said van de Grint. “The medium compound was very consistent and the soft compound was more of a challenge for the teams. Despite the large quantity of tyres used this weekend, we did not experience any tyre problems.” He also confirmed that the blowout experienced by Scott Speed’s vehicle was the result of air leakage not related to the tyres.

Bridgestone will employ their medium and hard compounds for the next race, the Malaysian Grand Prix. Van de Grint is confident the teams will make good use of the lessons learned in Melbourne. “We have an even better idea what to do for the future and I look forward to the next tough challenge in Sepang.”