BRIDGESTONE: 2009 Tires To Offer More Excitement?

(from autosport)

Bridgestone is considering widening the gap between the two types of compounds it provides to teams at each race next year in a bid to increase excitement.

With Formula One's official tyre supplier due to complete its final slick test at Jerez next week before it submits its 2009 plans to the FIA before the end of August, it has admitted that it is looking at changing its approach in terms of what it gives the teams.

Current tyre regulations force teams to race with both types of the compounds they are given at each grand prix, with Bridgestone having opted to provide types just one step apart in their compound variation.

However, with calls from both teams and observers suggesting that widening the variation would improve the racing, Bridgestone is now evaluating what to do.

Hirohide Hamashima, director of the company's motor sport tyre development, believes that one option would be to provide tyres that are two steps apart on the compound scale at each race, rather than the single-step difference currently in place.

At Monaco, for example, this could mean supplying the super soft and the medium options from next year, rather than the super soft and soft.

"We are thinking about selecting two positions difference (in the compound selection)," said Hamashima about Bridgestone's compound plans for next year. "Of course compound position between slick and groove will be different, because the slicks will be softer than grooved tyres.

"But we will bring two types of compound for each event again. And because currently everyone complains that the difference between the two is too small, we are thinking about what shall we do."

The difficulty for Bridgestone in making the compound selection is in not making too much of a difference between the two tyres.

Doing that would result in one of the tyres being much better than the other at a certain track, meaning all teams would follow the same tyre strategy - ending the variation that occurs now.

Hamashima accepted that there is a fine line between widening the difference from its current level to spice up the racing, but then not making the difference too big to end the strategic challenge.

"We want to take it a little bit wider than currently," he said. "If the difference is too big then maybe the teams complain on Friday, if it's too small they complain on Sunday!"