Monaco Saturday quotes: Bridgestone
Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development
What was significant about today's running?
"Today we saw Jenson Button use Bridgestone's super soft tyre for pole position here in Monaco, and as we all know, overtaking is very difficult here so pole is very beneficial. Lap times here were very close. The nature of the circuit means that the balance between mechanical grip and aerodynamic grip is more towards mechanical grip, and the close times show that all the teams can get good results from our tyres. It was also a good day for Ferrari with their first front row qualification of the season."
What are the tyre strategy considerations for tomorrow's race?
"The crucial question is whether the super soft tyre is durable enough to allow a one stop strategy. Our data shows that this should be possible, however a lot depends on track condition and rear tyre transverse graining. The track has changed from Thursday's running but super soft is still around 0.4s faster than the soft Bridgestone. Track temperatures were higher today, but heat degradation is not really a problem here as the track surface is smooth, so not too severe for tyres."
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