Tricky track conditions in Montreal for Friday practice meant that Bridgestone’s tyres were not as durable as they have been during previous race weekends, but the Japanese tyre company expect improvements in behaviour as conditions improve.
However, the forecast rain could wash away any rubber laid down today, making tyre strategy the key factor for Sunday’s race.
Hirohide Hamashima, Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development, explained what was significant about the running in Friday practice: “The dirty track surface here and the cooler than usual temperatures meant that graining was today's talking point.
“The tyres were not able to work to their full potential due to not reaching their best operating temperature. This meant the tyres were sliding, causing transverse graining on front tyres from braking and transverse graining on the rears from traction demands.
“We expect that the track surface will continue to improve with more rubber laid, and the graining will diminish. Weather forecasts also predict warmer temperatures which will be beneficial too.
“However, there is rain included in these forecasts so there is potential for this to be a very interesting weekend in terms of maximising tyre performance potential.”
When asked how the team’s would approach tyre allocation this weekend, Hamashima said that conditions in Canada made any predictions very difficult. “The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is always a difficult circuit to understand, even when weather conditions are favourable. We certainly would expect better performance from both compounds as the track surface gets more rubber laid on it and as the weather improves, but how the compounds will react relative to each other is a difficult question. Teams and drivers will have to work very hard this weekend.”
