Tyres Strategy Will Play Key Role in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
By Alex Kapadia
Tyres strategy will play a key role in deciding the outcome of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix tomorrow, according to Hirohide Hamashima, director of motorsport tyre development for Bridgestone.
The racing tyres supremo said: “Based on the information so far the major race tyre strategy consideration will be minimising use of the soft. However, as the track is still improving so we could see better performance from the soft tomorrow.”
He said that today’s qualifying sessions were about “further learning the track and it still has a few tricks.
“We were treated to an exciting qualifying session and one where our harder tyre proved to be the quickest for pole position.
“Lewis Hamilton did a great job, particularly with his 1min 39.695secs time on the medium in Q2. Track conditions continue to improve so tomorrow’s race should be fascinating on many levels.”
Looking ahead to the last race of the season tomorrow, Hamashima added: “Our information shows that neither tyre suffers particularly from degradation or wear.
“The medium tyre is very well suited to this track. It has good grip and its performance is consistent, meaning that lap times should fall as the cars get lighter.”
Number: Z8037079
Reg: NKF419
