Bridgestone’s hard tyre proved to be the fastest rubber in the heat of Istanbul for the first day of the

Turkish Grand Prix at the purpose-built Istanbul Park race track. In warm, sunny and windy

conditions, Heikki Kovalainen set the day’s fastest time, a 1min 28.841secs, in his Vodafone McLaren

Mercedes in the afternoon practice session.

Bridgestone’s hard and soft compound presented competitors with a stern challenge to find a good

set-up on the changing circuit surface. The morning practice session was temporarily stopped with a

red flag period whilst some dislodged Astroturf was removed from the track. Nico Rosberg went

fastest in this session, using the hard compound Bridgestone and his AT&T Williams to set a time of

1min 28.952secs.

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development

What was significant about today’s running?

“Today was mainly about track condition. Istanbul Park is a fabulous track, but it is not used very

much during the year. This means it starts the weekend dirty and it takes time before rubber is laid on

the surface to allow our tyres to work well. In the second session this improvement did not happen as

much as we would expect and we are working to understand why this could be. Certainly, it was

relatively windy today and this has an impact on the current generation F1 cars. Today we heard a lot

of talk about lack of grip and graining, however that is usual for a Friday. Here we generally see one

of the greatest track weekend evolutions of the season so tomorrow will be interesting.”

How do you expect this allocation to work over the weekend?

“This weekend looks to be a little difficult in terms of making predictions and the data from today

shows there is still work to be done on set-up for teams, but also that the track is changing.

Interestingly, we saw some big differences in car balance dependant on which compound was used,

which is not something we have experienced to this extent so far this season. Track temperature is

important here. If it gets hotter than today we expect the hard tyre to give more grip than the soft. If it

gets cooler, we expect the soft tyre to offer better grip than the hard. Today was in the middle in

terms of temperature, so grip levels and lap times were very similar between the compounds.”

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Going into the seventh round of the world championship, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro is in fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship, a long way behind the leading team. Nevertheless, the Scuderia arrives in Istanbul in optimistic mood, based on strong showings in the last two rounds in Barcelona and Monaco and the fact that it has a fantastic track record at the Istanbul Park circuit.

As of this race, the F60s driven by Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa will benefit from further modifications to the aero package, including an update to the double-deck diffuser. These changes are not as major as those introduced for the Spanish Grand Prix, but they do represent a small step forward in terms of development. More significantly, while the many changes introduced in Barcelona were mainly a reaction to the FIA’s ruling on the double diffuser issue, opening up new areas that could be looked at from an aero point of view, the changes in Istanbul represent a return to the team’s planned development programme, based on the principle of introducing minor updates at every race.

Even if the efforts of everyone at the factory have shown their worth in Monaco a fortnight ago, this weekend, one can expect the Red Bulls, that are particularly suited to faster circuits, to be more competitive than in the Principality, so while Brawn is likely to still be a step ahead of the pack, the fight behind between the Prancing Horse and the Bull should be much closer, as indeed it was in Barcelona. It is to be hoped that the further updates to the F60 package for this race, will continue to move Ferrari up the pecking order. Past history in Istanbul tells of a very competitive Ferrari, partly because the engineers found a good set-up basis, which is still valid despite the big changes to the technical regulations. The working practice of the team has also been validated, because the new approach adopted in Monaco in 2008 proved just as effective this year. In a sport where the car plays a huge role in the final result, it has to be said that Felipe Massa can be described as something of an Istanbul specialist. In fact, the current Ferrari driver line-up has won all four Turkish Grands Prix to date, as Kimi Raikkonen won the inaugural race back in 2005 driving for another team, when Ferrari was uncompetitive because of tyre issues. Since then, Felipe has won the last three, each time starting from pole, with the other Ferrari driver also on the podium: Kimi third last year and second in 2007, with Michael Schumacher third in 2006.

On the tyre front, Bridgestone is bringing its “soft” and “hard” tyre types, the same as used in Barcelona and the team will attempt to improve its performance on the harder compound, which has been a weak point for a while now. The fact that the front right tyre gets put under extreme pressure here is not a problem that should affect the F60, as the car is quite gentle on it tyres, which is down to set-up. Even around slow and twisty Monaco, the KERS system proved useful, if not in facilitating any overtaking, then in terms of producing good lap times and here in Istanbul, its benefits should be far more obvious and help with overtaking: The long straight, that runs from Turns 9 and 10, passing through the kink at Turn 11, ends with a hard braking entry into a tight right-hander (Turn 12) and that is the best passing opportunity on the lap. The run down to the first corner after the start is also sufficiently long for KERS to provide a handy advantage when the start lights go out. The F60s have been fitted with KERS for all bar one of the races so far this season and the team’s knowledge and ability to extract the maximum from it, has improved significantly throughout the year, so that it is now being used more efficiently. As for race strategy, two stops is the most common choice, although as Hamilton showed in the McLaren last year, three is an option, because the pit lane itself is quite short and the entry to it means the drivers cut the final very slow corner. Combined with a high 100 km/h pit lane speed limit, making that extra stop can sometimes pay off in terms of running a lighter car for four stints.

Away from the technical front, Ferrari has also greatly reduced it’s “lap time” from hotel to circuit and back. After years of staying in hotels on the European side of the city, it has now made the switch to the Asian side: this means the endless queues for the toll bridges across the Bosphorus are now a thing of the past, thus allowing for a very valuable additional thirty minutes before the early morning alarm clocks begin to ring!

Join the forum discussion on this post - (2) Posts

Maranello, 3rd June 2009

Ferrari always went very well at the Turkish GP over the last three years, but this time Brawn GP is the great favourite, because they won five out of the six races so far. We’re closing the gap, but we’ve got to give it our all to get back in the lead.

It was great to be back on the podium at Monaco. The Team pushed very hard and it was a very nice reward to have both cars amongst the first four. The Monaco weekend was a step forward as far as the result is concerned, but we have to be patient: I know that our fans want to see us winning immediately, but we have to be realistic. We’re closer, that’s for sure, and we’ll have some updates in Turkey; but we know that the others work hard too. Compared to the Monaco track the Istanbul Park is a more conventional track and we have a more definite idea. I really like this track and it’s very demanding. There are all types of corners and blind spots to brake; everything you need for a beautiful race. This year’s cars have less downforce, but we’re using slicks: corner number 8 will be very exciting under these circumstances. I think that it’s the downforce we still have to make up ground compared to Brawn GP and Red Bull, but we’re heading in the right direction.

Now, almost half way through the season, I’m much more optimistic than I was at the start, especially with the steps we’ve taken in the last two races. We know that there are further improvements coming up, which makes me think positive about the future. Who wins five out of four races at the start of the season is in an excellent position to winning the title, but the Championship isn’t over yet. Everything can happen, although things have to change very soon.

Last Saturday I made my first experience in a rally on tarmac in Italy. I had lots of fun as far as the competition and the Italian fans’ support were concerned. It was a pity that the fun it didn’t last long.

Source - Kimi’s Official Site

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

Join the forum discussion on this post - (2) Posts

3 June, 2009 – Round 7 

Bridgestone Motorsport Turkish Grand Prix Preview 

Bridgestone’s soft compound appears for the first time at the harsh proving ground of the Istanbul Park 

Circuit where it will partner Bridgestone’s hard compound for the trials and undulations of the Turkish 

Grand Prix. 

Round seven of the FIA Formula One World Championship takes place on the first anti-clockwise circuit 

of the season and Bridgestone’s tyres will encounter almost every type of corner and force loadings over 

the 5.34 km of the Hermann Tilke designed course. 

Of particular note is Turn Eight. This long, multi-apex, left-hand turn places fierce loads on the tyres, 

particularly the front right. Only a small portion of the track is on level ground, the majority being either uphill 

or downhill to present drivers with a real roller-coaster drive.  

The final combination of corners before heading on to the start-finish straight will also give competitors plenty 

to think about. The left-right-left of turns 12-14 are the lowest speed areas of the track and come straight 

after the highest-speed straight. This combination is a breeding ground for tyre graining, so competitors will 

have to pay particular attention here to minimise this, especially early in the race weekend when the circuit is 

dirtier and has less rubber on it. 

Last year Felipe Massa (Ferrari) achieved his second win of the season in the Turkish Grand Prix, after 

starting from pole and using a medium-medium-hard tyre strategy to win. 

Hirohide Hamashima -Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, said: 

What are the challenges of Turkey? 

“Istanbul has a wide range of different corner types and is a very difficult circuit to master in terms of car 

set-up and maximising tyre potential. It has high speed sections and also heavy braking. Both of these 

factors mean that a lot of energy is being put through the tyres, so watching wear and degradation will 

be a consideration.  This circuit is not only a challenge for our tyres, drivers face a tough race too as the 

circuit is not clockwise like most of the tracks on the calendar.” 

How should the tyres cope with the tricky Turn Eight? 

“Turn Eight is a difficult corner and we have learnt a lot about this corner from the problems we have 

seen here in the past. This season we are using slick tyres, and they are inherently stronger in the tread 

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts