Bridgestone Defend Tyre Performance

Bridgestone's technical manager Hisao Suganuma has defended the performance of their tyres in today's Monaco Grand Prix.

World Champion Michael Schumacher said his tyres "didn't look too good" in today's race, where the German finished in third place and saw Championship leader Kimi Raikkonen extending his lead to four points.

Schumacher and teammate Rubens Barrichello - eighth today - were the only Bridgestone runners in the points in a race dominated by Michelin-shod cars. Suganuma, however, suggested that Ferrari's strategy was to blame for the result.

"A third place in Monaco where overtaking is notoriously difficult is not bad at all," said Suganuma. "I think it's important to note that when given a clear road, Michael was really able to push hard, tracking down the two front runners.

"In fact, he gained more than half a second a lap in the latter stages of the race, a huge performance boost. Thursday's qualifying results also reflect that we had the performance necessary. Looking at the condition of the tyres after the race, they also seemed to have held up well which we're pleased about.

"We will be looking closely at the results from today to keep pushing our development but I think perhaps we suffered today with a different fuel load strategy from some of our rivals. The Ferrari cars for example were further back on the grid than normal, resulting in a tough first stint, and they then came in much later for their pitstops."