Bridgestone Report – The tires suffered during this race

The official tire supplier was expecting rain this Sunday, but it didn’t arrive. The opportunity to see drivers performing in wet conditions without driving aids did not occur.

On the new asphalt of Sepang, graining will have complicated the task for some drivers. According to Bridgestone, a lack of balance in the cars is the cause.

Hirohide Hamashima – Director of Tire Development at Bridgestone Motorsport:

« This race was another hot event where our performance was very good. This day was a very interesting experience in terms of tire wear, especially on the front tires. »

« For cars with a suitable balance, the tires performed well; however, for single-seaters lacking balance, the graining was significant. »

The track is more severe than ever and that’s why we’ve seen different tire strategies compared to last year, and this has adapted our tire compound distribution very well. We have witnessed a range of strategies from different competitors, making for an interesting strategic race.

Congratulations to Kimi Räikkönen and Ferrari on this success through an effective strategy. The team managed to maximize the performance of their tires today. Robert Kubica and BMW-Sauber also maximized the potential of our tires but a notch below the Scuderia.