Australia preview quotes: Bridgestone

Kees van de Grint, Head of Track Engineering Operations: "The biggest change is that there is no more competition so all drivers have the same tyre and you can ignore the factor of different tyre performance deciding the race. We are also no longer making tyres for a particular chassis or particular driver. Everybody is the same, so the teams have to adjust the car and the driver has to adjust his driving style, to get the best performance out of the tyres."

What particular challenges does Albert Park present?

Kees van de Grint: "The challenges are not the same as when we are in a competitive tyre environment. Our focus now is to ensure that the tyres are firstly, safe and secondly, consistent with a wide performance window. We are confident the tyres will perform well this weekend. However, what is always a difficult part of the Australian race is that we are never sure about the weather: it could be quite warm, and it could be cold. Also, as the circuit is not a permanent one it will be quite slippery in the beginning."