Bridgestone Announces F1 Compounds up to Silverstone

Bridgestone Motorsport has confirmed the compound allocations of Potenza tyres for the next six rounds of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship. The manufacturer has been able to implement its policy of keeping compounds two steps apart at the latter three Grand Prix (Canadian, European – super soft and medium – and British – soft and hard). The softer compound tyre used at any Grand Prix will be distinguished by the green bands on the edge of the tyre side walls, doubling up as a show of support for the FIA’s Make Cars Green campaign.

Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone head of Motorsport Tyre Development, says: “The Canadian and European Grands Prix take place on street courses where it is important to have good grip due to the slippery nature of the track surfaces. As these tracks are not used regularly for racing, even the allocations we bring will seem too hard when used on the Friday. By race day the circuit improvement and rubber laid will mean that the high grip of the super soft compound paired with the greater durability of the medium compound should provide a good combination. 

“The Silverstone circuit is historically the most severe on the calendar and now the new layout makes it even more severe. The new straight means a higher average speed, and there is hard braking and fierce acceleration over a lap. As always, we will be very vigilant to watch tyre temperature and wear. We expect we will see graining, even with the hard compound, but we believe that the soft and the hard compounds should allow exciting racing.”