Australia preview quotes: Bridgestone

"Safety is a primary concern for Bridgestone and we hope for a safe season of racing. Formula One is seen all over the world and Bridgestone's brand exposure becomes greater every year through our association.

"We have the excitement of two new races this season, in Valencia and Singapore, and these bring new challenges. Everything starts in Melbourne with the Australian Grand Prix and I am looking forward to an exciting race."

Hirohide Hamashima, Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development: "Albert Park is only used once a year and it is hosting the first grand prix of the season so teams and drivers will face many challenges. Although we think of Albert Park as a street course, it is actually quite a high speed circuit and severe on tyres.

"The grip level from the circuit will change over the course of the weekend and teams and drivers will have to constantly adapt. Early in the weekend we expect to see graining on the dirty track, but this should decrease as the circuit improves. We will use the middle two compounds in our range; medium and soft; as they provide the best option for this circuit.

"Most teams have new cars so they have the additional challenge of finding the best setups to maximise performance from our tyres on cars they are still learning about. For drivers the lack of traction control will make a difference.

"Albert Park does feature heavy braking so we could see some drivers lock their tyres as they adapt to the new systems, especially when there are low grip levels from the track."