Which tires for which Grand Prix? Good question

With the return of slick tires in 2009, Bridgestone’s technical director, Tetsuro Kobayashi, admits to being a bit lost. He doesn’t yet know what type of tire will be offered for next season’s races. It depends on the track, the weather, but also on the data obtained this winter!

Most teams conducted tests in Barcelona at the beginning of the week. All of them ran with slick tires, re-allowed in 2009. The goal is to obtain as much data as possible on the performance of these high-grip tires.

Kobayashi states that there is still a lot of work to be done before having a true picture of the performance offered by this type of tire: « We are accumulating a lot of data with the tests, but it will take much more time to know what the tire specifications allocated to each GP will be », Kobayashi said.

Slick tires will completely replace grooved tires in 2009. Thus, just like in previous seasons, three types of tires will be available at each race: Slicks, Rain, Maxi-Rain, each further divided into three specifications: Extra-soft tire, Soft tire, or Hard tire.

« We will be able to have two tire specifications at each Grand Prix out of the three we are developing in F1. But it depends on many factors. » continues Kobayashi. « Furthermore, the softest tire must perform better on a flying lap than the hardest tire. While on a fast lap, the soft tire must be faster than the hard tire… It’s an equation with many unknowns, but it’s in the interest of this sport! »

The marking of the softest tires will still be in place in 2009. The goal is to allow spectators to recognize the type of tire used by a driver during the Grand Prix. However, this system brings a new unknown. How to paint a completely smooth tire in white without the paint coming off after the first lap? Bridgestone has no answer at the moment.

Regarding the marking of tires defined as soft, we do not know how to do it! concluded the Japanese.