Super Soft Dominates in Bahrain Heat

Brawn’s Jenson Button was once again successful in the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, having pursued a super soft – super soft – medium tyre strategy. The heat on the circuit had made Brawn’s continued dominance seem unlikely, as the team was forced to modify the car’s underside for necessary engine cooling. However, Button’s ability to use the consistently faster super soft tyres, thanks in part to the Brawn car’s comparative gentle treatment of its rubber, allowed the Briton to claim maximum points again, finishing 7.1 seconds ahead of Sebastian Vettel, who used the same tyre strategy in his Red Bull. The Toyotas meanwhile, fresh from their first ever all-front row qualification, faded in the heat, as pole-sitter Jarno Trulli used a super soft – medium – super soft strategy to finish third.

Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone director of motorsport tyre development, revealed the tyre supplier’s satisfaction with the way the race was run: “Today was a very exciting race, particularly from a tyre perspective. We saw a good range of strategies, and when to use the medium compound was a difficult decision for teams, as it delivered a consistently slower lap time than the super soft. The super soft performed well and heat degradation was not a big problem even in the extreme heat of Bahrain. There was some very good tyre management from drivers and also some strong running from competitors on the medium tyre too. I think today has shown just how exciting racing can be with two Bridgestone tyres with different characteristics with our 2009 allocations.”