Former Bridgestone motorsport boss hired by Ferrari F1

Hirohide Hamashima, formerly manager of Bridgestone’s Motorsport department, has been hired by Ferrari to be the luxury car brand’s Formula One Team tyre development director. Hamashima worked with Bridgestone, which supplied tyres to F1 from 1997, until pulling out at the end of the 2010 season.

Surprisingly for many commentators, who suggested home country ties between Ferrari and new tyre supplier Pirelli could prove advantageous, the Ferrari team struggled to match the pace of Red Bull and McLaren for much of the season; a fact that seems to have been acknowledged by Hamashima’s appointment. According to team principal Stefano Domenicali, he will contribute to “the development of the car and the issue of the tyres, as this was an issue where last year we suffered in some conditions.”

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