Bridgestone have warned that the overnight weather will determine the tyres strategy ahead of tomorrow’s Australian Grand Prix.

Hirohide Hamashima, director of the company’s motorsport tyre development, said after today’s qualifying session: “The track was quite green at the start of today, because of the rain last night.

“If there is rain before tomorrow’s race we will face quite a difficult track, and those starting on the soft tyre will have the concern of graining on the left tyres, either front, rear, or both depending on the car and set-up.

“If a driver can protect their tyres then a one stop strategy should be possible, and the lower pit lane speed limit we have here also plays to this approach.

“The soft tyre is around 0.5 seconds faster for its fastest lap than the harder tyre, but we really don’t have sufficient data to know how long it will last here. This, and the variable of the Melbourne weather, will be the biggest unknowns for tomorrow’s race.”

Asked what was significant about today’s running he added: “Qualifying was a good battle with very close times and Sebastian Vettel did a very good job to take pole.

“There is an interesting line-up in the top ten so there is good potential for tomorrow’s race. The temperatures today were a lot cooler than yesterday, which presented a challenge for drivers, especially in qualifying.

“Qualifying was interesting as different strategies were used because of the threat of rain.”

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

By Denna Bowman

New rules governing the manufacturing of tyres are expected to come into force throughout the European Union, banning the use of toxic high aromatic (HA) oils.

These oils, which have been traditionally used to make tyres, are defined as toxic if they contain more than three percent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, known as PCAs.

The EU is expected to ban them completely if new rules come into force later this year requiring manufacturers to replace them with ‘clean’ alternatives.

When introduced, these guidelines could impact on manufacturers’ ability to supply their product if they have not switched to a clean alternative already.

The tyre industry has traditionally used HA oils, which are byproducts of the oil industry, in the manufacture of tyre treads.

Nokian Tyres became the first tyre manufacturer in the world to terminate the use of high aromatic oils in all production at the end of 2004.

It stated: “We have fulfilled our promise to consumers to manufacture HA-free products long before approval of the motion concerning the entry into force of the EU directive requiring HA-free products.

“According to the latest information, the EU directive concerning the manufacture of HA-free tyres will enter into force in 2010 at the earliest.”

Imagine the look on the faces of the Australian police officers who pulled over the young driver spinning his wheels and smoking the tyres on his silver Mercedes.

‘Who do you think you are son, Lewis Hamilton…..?” er, well actually…..

That’s exactly what happened on the streets of Melbourne last night, just days ahead of the Aussie Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver was booked under what are commonly know as ‘anti-hoon’ laws after the police saw him turn onto a public road and accelerate so hard that the wheels on his sports car spun and smoke billowed from the tyres.

The 2008 world champion was booked and forced to look on in eternal shame as the Merc was towed away and impounded.

Hamilton later apologised for spinning the wheels of his silver sports car and described his behaviour as ’silly’.

In a statement shortly after his car was towed away by police, he said: “I was driving in an over-exuberant manner and, as a result, was stopped by the police. What I did was silly and I want to apologise for it.”

Police have been clamping down on ‘hoons’ - often young motorists who speed, spin their car wheels and perform rear-wheel swerving ‘fishtails’ and circular ‘doughnuts’ - on public roads.

So when at around 9.15pm last night local time, Hamilton was seen leaving a temporary enclosure set up beside Lakeside Drive in preparation for the Formula 1 race and burning his tyres in the process, police who had been parked in a van chased after him with blue light flashing.

Hamilton pulled over immediately.

Senior Constable Scott Woodford of Melbourne police said Hamilton was ‘extremely co-operative,’ adding: “It would have been fair to say he was fairly disappointed with the incident.”

He was interviewed at the spot on Lakeside Drive, part of the four-mile Formula 1 circuit near the junction of Fitzroy Street - a popular restaurant and red light area - for about half an hour and was routinely breath-tested.

With his name and address recorded, he was booked for improper use of a vehicle - and his car was then towed to a police yard in the suburb of Preston, where it will be held for 48 hours under Australia’s strict ‘anti-hoon’ laws.

The laws have been in force for a number of years in the hope of cutting down on anti-social behaviour that includes burn-outs and speeding.

Hamilton will be charged under summons, which means a date has to be set for a court appearance.

This could result in his case being hastily scheduled because he is a visitor, or an arrangement might be made for him to be represented by a lawyer in his absence.

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

The McLaren boys were happy with their practice session in Melbourne today, Lewis Hamilton setting the fastest time, with Jenson Button coming in second quickest.

They had the chance to put both sets of tyres through their paces and were pleased with the results. This is what they had to say ahead of Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix.

Hamilton told reporters: “It’s great to be back in Melbourne - I love this place. The track was very dirty this morning - everybody usually waits for some of the cars to clean the line, but I just wanted to get out there and have some fun! I definitely think we’ve made some improvements to our pace compared with Bahrain. And the feeling over one lap is better for us. That’s what we’ve been trying to work on since the first race, and I feel more confident that, going into qualifying, we’ll be able to attack the guys who were at the front two weeks ago. Despite this afternoon’s wet weather, we went out early in the second session when it was still dry and got some good running under our belts in order to see how some of the changes we’d made between the sessions felt. We’re feeling positive. We’d hoped to evaluate some further changes at the end of P2, but the track still wasn’t up to full speed. Nevertheless, we feel quite comfortable with the balance of the car. I actually feel very relaxed: I’ve got a car that probably feels better than I’ve ever had at this track, so that’s a major positive.”

Button added: “I’m reasonably pleased with the balance, and it’s just got better throughout the day. I’ve been happy since lap one this morning. It’s only Friday, and we may be lighter than some of the quick cars out there, but tomorrow we’ll see where we actually stand. Nevertheless, it’s important for us to find a good balance and get a good feeling with the car. We’ve just been trying to continually tweak the balance of the car, but it’s been tough because of the conditions and the traffic out on the circuit. Every time I’ve tried to put a good lap in on a new set of tyres, I’ve hit traffic. But we’ll make the best of it for tomorrow. For qualifying, the car should feel better than it did in Bahrain: it feels like we have the correct downforce level for this circuit. Both tyre compounds are working well too, so it’s all positive.”

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

By Oliver Hall

A court handed out a 12-month prison sentence to a man who illegally stored tyres at his home and
workplace.

Mark Smith admitted keeping the old tyres and other waste at his home and in garages on an industrial estate.

Trading under his company Mark Smith Tyres, Smith was advised to get a waste management licence by the Environment Agency (EA) in 2003.

He failed to apply for a licence and his business went into liquidation in 2005, so Smith left the industrial estate, leaving behind 450,000 waste tyres in storage.

Smith, from Malvern, then continued to trade as a new business and stored 100,000 waste tyres at his home, The Homestead, without a licence.

Smith pleaded guilty at Worcester Crown Court to three charges relating to the illegal deposit and keeping of controlled waste.

Judge HHJ Hooper QC said that Smith was guilty of causing “real environmental affront” and offences plainly crossed the custody threshold.

He had exported tyres for reuse and other tyres were baled, with the intention of being sold to the construction industry.

EA officer Terry Broadbent, who led the investigation, said: “As part of the investigation, 56 garages were investigated under the Duty of Care Regulations which resulted in 50,000 tyres being removed from The Homestead by the producers of the waste to a suitable licensed facility at their cost.”

Under Duty of Care Regulations, producers of controlled waste are only allowed to give waste to registered waste carriers who use Duty of Care waste transfer notes.

By Denna Bowman

Chinese manufacturers produced 654.64 million tyres during 2009, up 18 per cent on the previous year.

According to data released by the China National Bureau of Statistics (CNBS), 57.19 million tyres were produced in China in December alone, a staggering 52 per cent rise compared with 2008.

All eyes have been on the industry after the US slapped steep duties on Chinese consumer tyres from four per cent to to 35 per cent from 26th September 2009 in response to a trade action brought earlier in the year by the United Steelworkers union.

The Obama administration acted in response to a USW claim that a surge in Chinese tyre imports was putting the domestic industry and American jobs at risk.

The additional duties will fall to 30 and 25 percent when they come into effect from September 2010 and September 2011.

However, despite this blow China produced almost 20 per cent more tyres in 2009 than it did the previous year.

By Alex Kapadia

William’s driver Rubens Barrichello has blamed the new narrower front tyres for the lack of overtaking in the first Formula One race of the season.

The front tyres were made narrower this year - at Bridgestone’s request - in order to address the balance of grip from front to rear.

However, the Brazilian racer thinks the decision was misjudged, as he argues that the cars need to get as much grip from the tyres as possible in order to counteract the loss of downforce when travelling in another car’s turbulent aerodynamic wake.

The opening Grand Prix of the season in Bahrain was described as boring and processional and there is mounting speculation that Brigdestone is being asked to supply more extreme tyre offerings later in the season.

But Barrichello, F1’s most experienced active driver, refused to blame Bridgestone for the narrower front tyres that he said have made overtaking nearly impossible.

“It’s not the weakness of the tyre, its the weakness of the rule,” the Brazilian said in Melbourne ahead of this weekends Australian Grand Prix. “We need more mechanical grip, its the only solution.

“Its very dodgy to overtake a car in front because we don’t have the front tyres,” he added.

Bridgestone has already announced the compounds for the five races after Sunday’s second round of the 2010 series.

Barrichello said: “I hope there is something (changed), but first of all I think we need to wait four or five races before we actually take a conclusion on how it is.”

Goodyear have been applauded for their commitment to developing a new bio-rubber which will mean greener car tyres, by a leading eco-friendly motoring group.

The Environmental Transport Association has highlighted the tyres manufacturers hopes to dramatically reduce the 26 litres of oil it takes to make the average car tyre by using a new plant-derived substance called BioIsoprene.

The product, which can be made from renewable sources such as sugar cane, will be used to supplement isoprene, a by-product in the production of crude oil, that is a key ingredient in synthetic rubber.

Production of the greener tyres is hoped to start within five years.

A spokesperson for the ETA said: “Approximately one billion car tyres are produced each year so savings in the amount of oil needed are welcome and overdue.”

According to the ETA, the world’s only carbon neutral motoring organisation which aims to raise awareness about the impact of excessive car use, the correct choice of tyre can save motorists £300 in fuel costs and over half a ton of CO2 in emissions every year.

It states: “At first sight there may appear to be little difference between models of tyre, but their design strongly influences the environmental performance of vehicles: the majority of road traffic noise comes from tyre/road contact, and tyres determine up to 30 per cent of a vehicle’s fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

“The ETA is in favour of tyre labelling for rolling resistance and noise, a move that would make it easier for drivers to choose fuel efficient designs.”

Oliver Hall, Operations Team

By Denna Bowman

Yokohama Rubber has raised its financial projections after a surge in demand for winter tyres pushed sales higher than previously anticipated.

The “faster-than-expected recovery” in tyres sales led the company to increase its consolidated net sales and earnings projections for its fiscal year ending 31 March 2010.

Yokohama now projects a net income of 9.4 billion yen (approximately $101.8 million), compared with a net loss of 5.7 billion yen in the previous fiscal year. The projection is 34.3% higher than the projection announced on 30 October 2009.

Operating income is expected to rise 49.9% year-over-year, to 19.2 billion yen ($208 million). That projection is comparatively 12.9% higher.

Yokohama also estimates its net sales will decline 9.1% to 470.0 billion yen ($5.1 billion), an amount 1.1% higher than originally projected.

The company said: “Underlying the improved sales and earnings outlook is the faster-than-expected recovery in tyre sales.

“Demand from automakers in Japan has been stronger than expected, and heavy snowfall has generated stronger-than-anticipated demand for winter tyres in Japan.

“In addition, tyre demand has exceeded forecasts in markets outside Japan, especially in Asian nations. The upturn in sales has raised Yokohama’s capacity utilisation rate, meanwhile, which has fortified profitability further.”

By Alex Kapadia

Bridgestone have announced which tyres will be available to Formula One teams until this season’s Turkish Grand Prix.

The Japanese tyres manufacturer revealed last month that it would bring the soft and hard compounds to this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, and it has now confirmed the choices for the five races after Melbourne.

The soft and hard options are the choice for Malaysia, China, Spain and Turkey, with the super soft and medium compounds for Monaco.

Hirohide Hamashima, head of motorsport tyre development for Bridgestone, said: “Deciding which tyres to bring to a grand prix is always a difficult decision, especially as we don’t receive advanced notification of the exact weather we will see at the race circuit over the three days of running.

“Tyre performance in Bahrain was good, however we remain vigilant and safety is the overriding concern for us.

“Shanghai and Barcelona are both quite severe circuits and Istanbul, as we have seen in the past is particularly severe. This is why we are bringing the hardest allocation, while still leaving a gap in our range between the two compounds.

“For Monaco this year we will have a gap in the allocation too, which is a change from the two softest compounds which we have brought here previously.

“We have a harder prime compound for Monaco because of the heavier fuel loads and longer stint lengths that the current rules encourage. We believe this allocation should provide a reasonable and interesting difference between prime and option tyres for this event.”