Hungary preview quotes: Bridgestone

Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development

What are the challenges of the Hungaroring?

"The Hungaroring is an interesting circuit, especially as it is not used much during the year. This means the circuit grip levels experienced on Friday are likely to be very different from those experienced in the race. For deciding set-up and tyre strategy, this makes things difficult, and competitors will have to work hard. Tyre management, particularly with graining, is very important, and qualifying position is crucial as overtaking is difficult. Also, we are ever mindful of the weather as it can get very hot there, although we have seen rain in the past, notably when Jenson Button scored his first F1 race victory in 2006."

Why has the tyre allocation gap not occurred for this race?

"We are bringing consecutive tyres from our range to Hungary because of the slippery surface and the circuit layout. This is the slowest speed permanent race circuit that we visit during the course of the season, and the surface itself is not aggressive enough to help generate heat in the tyres. The super soft and the soft Bridgestones are both from our low temperature working range of tyres. This makes it easier for the teams and drivers to generate heat and get the best performance from them."