Italian GP: Bridgestone tires all out with speed

Bridgestone tires will be put to the test in anticipation of this weekend’s race at the Monza track in Italy. The weather will be clear and the top speeds of the cars will be unmatched this season. Therefore, the tires will be primarily affected.

Just like at Spa-Francorchamps two weeks ago, the Japanese supplier will bring the soft and medium tires, hoping that the teams will make good use of them.

Hirohide Hamashima – Development Director

« Monza has very high-speed straights so there will be a lot of forces going through the tires as they can rotate up to 50 times per second. This means that the rubber of the tires can become very hot, even with the wind effect and therefore some cooling. At the end of the pit straight, there is quite a harsh braking zone and drivers must be careful not to lock their brakes. These are low downforce settings that will be used at Monza. »

« As we saw at Spa, the allocation of soft and medium tires can lead to interesting results. The medium compound is the softest of our upper working range and the soft is the hardest of our lower working range. This means that overall performance can be very similar, however, their characteristics are different. At Spa, we saw that the tires behave differently between the car characteristics, set-ups, and drivers, so perhaps it will be the same situation at Monza. But, it is a more severe circuit and knowing how to manage the tires is likely to be a more important factor. »