Formula One news

Bridgestone to bring its hardest compounds to China

Formula One's tyre manufacturer Bridgestone will bring its two hardest compounds to this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix. The track is known for its high graining in several turns and thus the teams will have to make the best use of their tyres at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Shanghai has two long straights and sixteen corners of varying types. Heavy braking, extreme lateral loads and high demands on traction are just some of the factors that Bridgestone's hard and medium compound Potenza tyres will encounter.

Turns 2 and 7 are likely to induce tyre graining, whilst the high lateral G-forces generated through the sequence of turns 7-8 will place strong demands on the tyres' construction and heat durability. A two stop pit strategy has been the favoured option in the past, as running with a heavy car as required for a one-stop strategy is likely to be very detrimental to lap times and cause heavier wear on the tyres. There is an element of gradient changes over the course of a lap as well as an element of banking in turn 13.

Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone director of motorsport tyre development, explained Bridgestone's tyre choice by saying: "The Shanghai International Circuit is very severe on tyres and that is why we are bringing the two hardest compounds from our range. There are very high lateral forces and we expect to see graining on the front left tyres, especially caused by the increasing radius turn two and the banked turn thirteen. We could also see graining on the rear tyres here too.

"The circuit layout means that a medium downforce set-up will be used, as there are two long straights, but a large percentage of the track is also very twisty and technical. For the teams and drivers, finding the correct set-up to make the best use of their tyres will be a big challenge."

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