Europe Preview Quotes: Bridgestone

Hiroshi Yasukawa, Director of Motorsport: "Although we did not achieve our aims in qualifying at the last round in Monaco, the car - tyre race performance was noticeably strong and I am confident that, together with our teams, we can build on that performance at the Nurburgring this weekend. The European Grand Prix is also a significant race because of its proximity to Michael Schumacher's home town and it would be very satisfying to see him do well in front of his home crowds. Furthermore, I look forward to seeing the GP2 Series racing again after the excellent performance of our GP2 tyres in Monaco, which resulted in several positive comments from the drivers."

Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager: "The key issue at this venue is grip so we will be taking tyres from the soft end of the compound range to suit the relatively smooth track surface. However, even though the circuit is not too hard on tyres, we will need to watch the wear durability of the tyres. Stability when changing direction will also be important there. In addition to the circuit characteristics we also have to take into account the circuit's own changeable climate caused by its mountainous location. Depending on the weather, we may experience track temperatures from below 20 degrees Celsius to approximately 40 degrees Celsius, if sunny. So the tyres will need to be able to cope with a large temperature range. This weekend also sees a change in the qualifying format from two sessions to one Saturday afternoon session, running with race fuel. It will be interesting to see how this affects the grid. We had a very successful race at the Nurburgring last year with a one-two finish for the Ferrari drivers so it would be nice to be as strong again this year."