Bridgestone: We Could Have Done Better

Bridgestone's technical manager Hisao Suganuma was pleased with their tenth win of the season at Sunday's German Grand Prix, but claimed their performance in the race could have been better.

German Michael Schumacher, driving the Bridgestone-shod Ferrari F2002, claimed his ninth win in 12 events this season, but the five-times champion said after the race that he was forced to conserve his tyres after they began to blister due to the high track temperatures at the Hockenheim circuit.

Suganuma said that although the Japanese manufacturer achieved their goals with the victory, the extreme heat meant that their tyres performed somewhat below expectations.

"Our aim here was to correct last year's result and have a car on our tyres win, so we achieved our target," said Suganuma. "However, it was a tough race for tyres. We measured a track temperature of 47C at one point, which is extreme heat for anyone.

"We had to select the tyres for this race based on simulation data which is not perfect, and there was room for improvement in our performance. However, it was pleasing to see that three of our teams were able to do battle with each other in the first part of the race, especially since Nick Heidfeld ended up with a point and two other drivers were not far off."