Belgium Preview Quotes: Bridgestone

Hiroshi Yasukawa, Director of Motorsport: "After the excitement of seeing Ferrari seal the Constructor's Championship in Hungary last week, we move on to Spa- Francorchamps where the Bridgestone equipped drivers will all be battling for further championship points. This is an important stage of the season and we are very focussed on serving our teams to the best of our abilities. The circuit at Spa is a favourite of many in the motor racing world and it is a pleasure to see it make a welcome return to the calendar this year. I expect it to produce a thrilling Grand Prix."

Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager: "Spa-Francorchamps is another very challenging circuit. Its high speed nature means that the tyres must have good heat durability while also providing good stability through the fast corners, such as Eau Rouge. Like the Nurburgring, this circuit is in a mountainous region and therefore subject to variable weather conditions and temperature fluctuations. We have had to take this into consideration when choosing our dry tyre specifications and wet tyre specification as they need to perform whatever the weather brings. Our choice of compounds has been selected from our mid to hard range because of the abrasive nature of the track surface and the high speeds endured. Spa will be very interesting for us this year because while we expect to be competitive as it has traditionally suited Bridgestone's tyres, it has been resurfaced in some areas since the grand prix was last held there in 2002. The 'Bus Stop' has also been modified but we do not expect this to have too much of an influence on tyre selection. We have not been able to test specifically for Spa but are confident that following the last tests in Jerez and Monza prior to the test ban commencing, we made the right choices in conjunction with our teams."