Japan Preview Quotes: Bridgestone

Hiroshi Yasukawa, Director of Motorsport: "The US Grand Prix produced some great results for Bridgestone Motorsport and its teams. Not only did our wet tyres prove dominant in the difficult conditions but the fastest lap of the race was also set by Michael Schumacher on our Bridgestone dry tyres â€" an excellent all round performance.

"It was especially pleasing to see Sauber take points whilst B.A.R showed their future potential when Jenson Button led the race for 15 laps. The result has provided us with the perfect springboard for the final round in Japan. This season has been one of the best in recent years for Formula 1 and it seems only right that both titles should be decided at the very final round.

"Bridgestone, for our part, have put every effort into ensuring that our teams enjoy success at Suzuka. Being our home round, I also know our staff will draw huge encouragement from the support of the local fans as well as the large contingent of Bridgestone employees who will be present to watch us in action."

Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager of Bridgestone Motorsport: "Our dry weather specifications will be from the mid-hard range of our compounds as Suzuka is one of the toughest rounds on the calendar for tyres. The abrasive surface and several mid to high speed corners mean that we can expect to see high degradation rates. A strong tyre is consequently needed to cope with the high loads placed on the tyres. This also explains why teams tend to choose two or three stop strategies.

"As for the weather in Suzuka, well, you never know what to expect there so we shall be prepared for all eventualities. With so much at stake for our teams and Ferrari in particular, we have worked extremely hard in the build up to Japan. I’m expecting the Bridgestone teams to be highly competitive and we hope that together, we will finish the season on a high note in front of our home crowd."