Bridgestone has revealed its tyre allocations for the remaining rounds of the 2009 Formula 1 season.
Two of the four races remaining will see Bridgestone reviving the practise of leaving a gap between the tyre compounds available at each race despite previous complaints from some of the drivers earlier in the season.
At Singapore, Super Soft and Soft compounds will be on offer, while in Japan Soft and Hard tires will be made available to the teams. Interlagos will have Super Soft and Medium tires, and the season finale at Abu Dhabi will see Soft and Medium compounds in use.
“Singapore is a street course and based on our experience there last year we feel the soft and super soft is the best choice,” said Bridgestone’s Hirohide Hamashima.
“For Suzuka we will have a gap in compound hardness. This will be an interesting return to this great circuit as half of the circuit has a new surface, so tyre usage considerations could be challenging. In Brazil we also stay with the stiffness gap. It can get very hot in Sao Paulo and we usually see a good race there, although I think we will struggle to have a race as exciting as the one we had last season.”
Hamashima admitted choosing the right tyre compounds for Abu Dhabi had been a challenge: “Abu Dhabi is a new destination for us. Although it is technically a street course, we are bringing harder compounds than we use at the other street courses. We feel that the hard compound would be too stiff for this new circuit, so we are bringing the consecutive soft and medium compounds.”
Bridgestone will be bringing its Soft and Medium compound tires to this week’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.
