New layout proving to be very tough on tires - Bridgestone
Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel powered to his fifth pole of the season, using Bridgestone’s soft compound for a scintillating 1m 29.615secs around the new configuration Silverstone circuit for the British Grand Prix. Vettel will have his Red Bull Racing team-mate Mark Webber alongside him for tomorrow’s race. He was also fastest in the morning, using Bridgestone’s hard compound.
Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development:
What was significant about today’s running? “Today the track surface continued to improve, both from being cleaned last night and from the many support categories which are racing at this event. Today’s laps in the 1min 29s were very impressive at this new layout. We saw some small blistering on the outside of some left front tyres and this shows how severe the new layout is for tyres and cars.”
What are the tyre strategy considerations for tomorrow’s race? “Both compounds have been working well and it is difficult to know the exact difference between them as the track surface has continued to improve so much. The blistering we have seen is only minor so we do not expect this to be a factor in the race. If it is very hot tomorrow it is possible for the tyres to overheat and their performance will suffer if this happens. Track position will play a big part in strategy tomorrow and I am looking forward to the first Grand Prix on Silverstone’s new layout.”
Source: Bridgestone Motorsport
