Bridgestone reacts to Turkish problems

Although conditions at the Istanbul Park circuit are unlikely to be as harsh as in recent years, due to a date change, Bridgestone has attempted to head off possible problems with its tyres.

Having been run in August since its arrival on the Formula One calendar in 2005, the Turkish Grand Prix moved to an early-May slot when the calendar was reshuffled to accommodate the new events in Valencia and Shanghai, and should be staged in cooler conditions that previous editions.


The left-right-left final combination of corners might be the slowest section of the track, but is a breeding ground for tyre graining, while the high speeds and heavy braking prompted by the rest of circuit mean that wear and degradation will be something for the teams to take into consideration.

Last year's event, won for the second year running by Ferrari's Felipe Massa, was marked by several tyre problems, most notably the failure that cost Lewis Hamilton a potential podium finish. The Briton experienced a sudden failure of his right-front tyre which almost caused him to go off and eventually restricted him to fifth place. Keen to avoid a repeat, Bridgestone has reacted by altering the tyres it is taking to the circuit this season, even though the hard and medium dry-weather compounds remain.

“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," director of motorsport tyre development Hirohide Hamashima said, "We face the highest G-forces we see all season, so we are bringing the hardest tyres in our range for this race.

"Historically, we have seen hot temperatures in Turkey, and the change to May should mean slightly lower temperatures. Last year, we did see some drivers experience problems with their use of our tyres, so we have made changes to the tyre construction to minimise the chances of this happening again.”