Brazil GP: Bridgestone preview
For the tyre manufactureres Interlagos is seen as "one of the most exciting circuits we race during the season". Bridgestone is previewing its next Grand Prix and the only GP on South American ground.
Hiroshi Yasukawa, Director of Motorsport "Brazil marks the start of the final push to the end of the season. It is also another favourite round for the F1 community. Facilities may not be up to the standards of other circuits in this current era of building brand new tracks, but the people of Brazil and Sao Paulo always give us a warm welcome. For Bridgestone, the Brazilian Grand Prix is an important event as we have a road tyre factory and substantial business in the country. It would be great to give all the Bridgestone employees something to cheer about. Furthermore, while we wish all the Bridgestone runners the best of luck this weekend, we would particularly like to see Rubens Barrichello have a competitive run in his final home race with the Ferrari team."
Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager "The anticlockwise nature of the Brazilian track means that from a tyre point of view, Interlagos can be tough on the right front and right rear tyres. The other issue we have to take into account is the track surface. Although bumpy, the tarmac itself is relatively smooth which would normally require as soft a compound as possible. However, there are several long corners which can be hard on the rear tyres so we have needed to keep rear degradation rates in mind when choosing the compounds for this race. The undulating rises and dips of the circuit are also factors, having an affect on both the choice of tyre and fuel usage. I would expect teams to be running mainly two-stop strategies, although three is possible. Weather wise, the Brazilian race is always unpredictable with the potential for either hot track temperatures or torrential rain. Taking these variables into account, we have been busy testing with Ferrari and Jordan in the last week at Jerez and Silverstone respectively with a view to getting the right tyres for a competitive weekend."
