Italy preview quotes: Bridgestone

"However, we must not forget that this weekend also marks the big finale for the GP2 Series. Lewis Hamilton and Nelson Piquet Jnr will be battling for championship honours and I know we are going to be treated to the same fantastic racing this weekend which we have enjoyed watching all season. Best of luck to them both!"

Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager: "Monza is renowned for being a very high speed circuit and although top speeds are slightly down this year because of the V8 engines, we found in testing that the cars were still reaching 330kph in at least three places. This is something that a tyre manufacturer has to consider very carefully when choosing its tyres because the high speeds result in considerable heat generation within them and consequently tyre degradation can be a factor.

"Furthermore, the tyres become highly stressed because of the continuous high speed running, which generates large centrifugal forces on the tyres, so construction durability is also very important. On the other hand, a large section of the track has been resurfaced since our last test in June and the feedback from the drivers has been that this new tarmac is quite smooth and is giving more grip in comparison to the older tarmac.

"We certainly noticed a reduction in tyre graining compared to June's test - particularly on a green track - and on the whole, the Bridgestone shod drivers had a very productive test last week, setting times which indicate that this weekend could be a very competitive one.

"Following this most recent test, it was decided that the Bridgestone teams will be using current specification tyres with compounds from our mid to soft range."