As the FIA Formula 1 World Championship braces itself for round eight of sixteen, Bridgestone Motorsport’s team of tyre engineers, fitters and supporting personnel are looking forward to the challenge of a mid-season fly-away race. Whilst the previous race at Monaco was all about strategy, fuel loads and soft tyres in a unique street environment, Canada’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is about high speeds, low downforce and big braking. Recent testing at Monza, therefore, with three of the Bridgestone teams (Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, Sauber Petronas and Lucky Strike B.A.R Honda) has concentrated on car set-ups in order to minimise heat generation in the tyres whilst maintaining grip. Monza and Canada are the two fastest circuits on the current F1 calendar.

Bridgestone’s race personnel are always made to feel particularly welcome in Canada and this year, Bridgestone/Firestone Canada is sponsoring a GP street festival on Place Jacques-Cartier in Old Montreal. There will be plenty for motor racing fans to see and do including the opportunity to view two Bridgestone-shod show cars (one F1 and one CART) and have a go on one of four F1 simulators.
The street festivities begin on Thursday evening and will continue throughout the weekend.

Hiroshi Yasukawa, Director of Motorsport, said: “Canada was an extremely rewarding race for Bridgestone last year. Michael claimed Ferrari’s 150th win on our tyres and five further Bridgestone runners finished the race in the top ten so I have high hopes for the forthcoming weekend. We are at an important stage of the season now and it is essential that our teams start to rack up the points. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve provides us with a challenging mid-season break from the European circuits and due to the wonderful atmosphere in Montreal it is one that the whole team enjoy attending.”

2003 Tyres for Montreal
The 4.361km Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has a smooth track surface, which means that teams will require specifications from Bridgestone’s soft range. They will not, however, be as soft as the specifications taken to Monaco. As always, Bridgestone’s tyres fully comply with the regulations set by the Federation Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA).
Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager, said: “The smooth surface at the Canadian circuit provides low grip which means we need a compound from our softer range. Unlike other circuits, however, where degradation and wear are the important factors, heat resistance is our main priority in Montreal. The circuit`s long straight and lack of corners means that we can expect high speeds and big braking. In fact, Canada is the second fastest circuit on the F1 calendar (Monza is the fastest). Consequently, the tread construction hits the ground at a very high frequency due to the high revolution of the tyres and this causes high heat generation within the tyres. However, from a compound formulation point of view, one way of reducing heat resistance can also result in loss of grip. We have therefore been faced with the challenge of how to reduce heat resistance in our tyres for Canada but without losing grip.”

Race 2002
The right strategy and tyres helped Michael Schumacher claim his 5th Canadian GP win – and Scuderia Ferrari’s 150th in Montreal. Despite losing a couple of places in the early laps, Schumacher’s one-stop strategy paid off with victory. His teammate Rubens Barrichello also finished on the podium in third place, having opted to do two pit-stops and losing his early advantage when the safety car was called out. Giancarlo Fisichella claimed two points for the third consecutive race for Jordan, while Olivier Panis finished eighth for Lucky Strike BAR Honda.
Result 2002: M Schumacher, D Coulthard, R Barrichello, K Raikkonen, G Fisichella, J Trulli

Championship standings:
Constructors: McLaren 73pts, Ferrari 71pts, Williams 50pts, Renault 42pts, Jordan 11pts, B.A.R 11pts
Drivers: K Raikkonen 48pts, M Schumacher 44pts, F Alonso 29pts, R Barrichello 27pts, JP Montoya 25pts, D Coulthard 25pts, R Schumacher 25pts

Source : Bridgestone

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