203 replies to this topic

[TheSaltire]

Breaking news on the wires tonight/tomorrow:

Bridgestone to stop F1 tyre supply in late 2010
(AFP) – 2 hours ago

TOKYO, Japan — Japan's Bridgestone Corp. said Monday it would end its tyre supply contract with Formula One after late 2010, citing a changing "business environment."

"Bridgestone today announced that it will not enter into a new tyre supply contract with the FIA Formula One World Championship series," the Tokyo-based tyre and rubber industry giant said in a statement.

Bridgestone has supplied tyres to F1 for 13 years and has been the exclusive supplier to the series since 2007. Its current contract expires at the end of the 2010 season.

The company said it was "addressing the impact of the continuing evolution of the business environment."

Last month Bridgestone said it would shed nearly 900 jobs in Australia and New Zealand as it closes manufacturing plants amid a worldwide slump in demand for cars.

Bridgestone, which vies with France's Michelin to be the world's top tyremaker, posted a net loss of 38.34 billion yen (420 million dollars) for January-June, a turnaround from a year-earlier profit of 37.24 billion yen.

-----
Official release on the Bridgestone website: http://bridgestone.c...2009110201.html

Bloomberg article says Bridgestone has been spending $100 million a year on their F1 program.

Edited by TheSaltire, 02 November 2009 - 03:44.

[ClubmanGT]

Bring back Michelin, Pirelli, Dunloop, Cooper and Hoosier!

[FPV GTHO]

If this is true, i think i'll be glad to see the back of Bridgestone and the attitude they took to the supply with their crappy hard tyres and pushing the FIA for the twin compound rules.

Hopefully Michelin havent burnt all their bridges with the FIA and will consider tendering.

[SpaMaster]

Glad to hear that. I have always thought they were incompetent since they became single suppliers. The tyres were not that consistent. Also, they never looked like supplying tyres with different type of construction that would offer more grip, but grain less. Their tyres were simply not high quality. FIA had already asked them to make tyres that leave less marbles. So, good to see them go.

[Arion]

Michelin is also in the red, I think all tyre makers are. don't know if they want to make a comeback now.

If I were a tyre maker, I'd not be interested in spending millions on some tyre war in a series now, we will still have single tyre supplier and substandard tyres.

Edited by Arion, 02 November 2009 - 04:04.

[ForeverF1]

We might see a return of Avon Tyres, they supply racing tyres to most other series.

[Sakae]

I am reading about it in Japanese news as well.

[teejay]

Jeez, massive news

[Arion]

Jeez, massive news

yeah, and no statement from the FIA, WTF

[gerry nassar]

Big news.

Though like mentioned above - they were mighty impressive in the late 90s but kind of dropped the ball of late IMO. Would be interesting to see a variety of suppliers return.

[Sakae]

Bring back Michelin, Pirelli, Dunloop, Cooper and Hoosier!

Good Year gave some good go at no-stop races as well. Damon Hill is probably of different view because he was let down once or twice, but overall, Prost won a few races on those.

[Captain Tightpants]

yeah, and no statement from the FIA, WTF

I'm in Australia, it's 3:30pm here. Japan is in a similar time zone.

The FIA is in Paris, which uses European time. Europe is currently eleven hours behind Australia.

Therefore, there has been no repsonse form the FIA because it's four o'clock in the morning.

[ClubmanGT]

I'm in Australia, it's 3:30pm here. Japan is in a similar time zone.

The FIA is in Paris, which uses European time. Europe is currently eleven hours behind Australia.

Therefore, there has been no repsonse form the FIA because it's four o'clock in the morning.

Yea but considering the time WE get up to watch races...

Edited by ClubmanGT, 02 November 2009 - 04:25.

[V8 Fireworks]

Therefore, there has been no repsonse form the FIA because it's four o'clock in the morning.

Bah, they should all adopt NZ time




Anyhow... assuming no manufacturer wants to supply fancy "F1-spec" tyres...

then rock hard Avons it shall be for all -> most interesting. No big deal when all laptimes to be 5-10 seconds slower... it may be a good thing even, cutting speeds etc.

[Arion]

I'm in Australia, it's 3:30pm here. Japan is in a similar time zone.

The FIA is in Paris, which uses European time. Europe is currently eleven hours behind Australia.

Therefore, there has been no repsonse form the FIA because it's four o'clock in the morning.

I was thinking BS should have notified the FIA a while ago right? they should have had their own statements ready and put it out simultaneously.
It looks like FIA was completely in the dark. It's unprofessional PR-wise.

Edited by Arion, 02 November 2009 - 04:32.

[WebBerK]

Hoosier can't produce decent tires for Nascar, they blow.

Goodyear is in the eve of bankrupcy.

[Captain Tightpants]

Whatever happens, I hope the FIA stays with spec tyres. When you intorduce a second supplier, too much emphasis is placed on your rubber.

[stevewf1]

It would be interesting if F1 couldn't find a tire supplier for 2011... Not likely I know, but I wonder what would happen if no one steps forward...

[pingu666]

woah
a new supplier may well want new tyre regs too so they cant be directly compaired to bridgestone...

wider rear tyres and ban double decker defuser...?

[nada12]

Glad to hear that. I have always thought they were incompetent since they became single suppliers. The tyres were not that consistent. Also, they never looked like supplying tyres with different type of construction that would offer more grip, but grain less. Their tyres were simply not high quality. FIA had already asked them to make tyres that leave less marbles. So, good to see them go.

My impression is that they just tried everything to make themselves noticeable. Not only the two compound rule but also tires that have a extra narrow operating window, or start graining or basically anything that keeps people talking about the tires. How many times do we hear comments from drivers about the tires and how they couldnt get them to work etc. It was on purpose, just their way of artificially creating a buzz about the tires. They were more interested in having their brand name in the media than supplying proper tires, which they showed they were capable of in the past. Good riddance.

BTW, a certain finnish driver will probably pop the vodka bottles upon hearing these news ;)

[V8 Fireworks]

Just get the teams to order a standard catalogue slick from Goodyear, Micheline etc. If it disintegrates at F1 speeds then they just need to ask their drivers to slow down. Simple.

[V8 Fireworks]

It would be interesting if F1 couldn't find a tire supplier for 2011... Not likely I know, but I wonder what would happen if no one steps forward...

All teams required to run historic treaded F1 re-issue specification tyres?

[pingu666]

stevewf1 they would haveto run on avon tyres tbh. i suspect the contract for sole tyre suplier will go up for bidding, A small company like avon would be looking to make a profit directly from f1, (ie sell the tyres to the teams), michlian or goodyear etc might be willing to lose money to get the advertising...

[Arion]

It would be interesting if F1 couldn't find a tire supplier for 2011... Not likely I know, but I wonder what would happen if no one steps forward...

They should be able to find someone, but it's likely they will have a smaller budget than BS, they will probably give teams a dozen of tyres for one race weekend

[primer]

How will a new supplier with no baseline develop tires in this restricted testing enviornment? The new tires might be potentially unsafe!

Best to bring back the tire war ;)

[SpaMaster]

My impression is that they just tried everything to make themselves noticeable. Not only the two compound rule but also tires that have a extra narrow operating window, or start graining or basically anything that keeps people talking about the tires. How many times do we hear comments from drivers about the tires and how they couldnt get them to work etc. It was on purpose, just their way of artificially creating a buzz about the tires. They were more interested in having their brand name in the media than supplying proper tires, which they showed they were capable of in the past. Good riddance.

BTW, a certain finnish driver will probably pop the vodka bottles upon hearing these news ;)

Totally agree.

I would be more interested to hear what he says about Bridgestone after he opens the vodka bottles.;)

[muramasa]

Glad to hear that. I have always thought they were incompetent since they became single suppliers. The tyres were not that consistent. Also, they never looked like supplying tyres with different type of construction that would offer more grip, but grain less. Their tyres were simply not high quality. FIA had already asked them to make tyres that leave less marbles. So, good to see them go.

blaming Bridgestone is quite off the point.

that's what should happen to any tyre makers with single supplier rule under cr@ppy FIA governance, amid current economic situation.

[muramasa]

My impression is that they just tried everything to make themselves noticeable. Not only the two compound rule but also tires that have a extra narrow operating window, or start graining or basically anything that keeps people talking about the tires. How many times do we hear comments from drivers about the tires and how they couldnt get them to work etc. It was on purpose, just their way of artificially creating a buzz about the tires. They were more interested in having their brand name in the media than supplying proper tires, which they showed they were capable of in the past. Good riddance.

BTW, a certain finnish driver will probably pop the vodka bottles upon hearing these news ;)

cr@p argument. great driver would still be great under any circumstances at any era. if that Finnish driver cant perform on certain tyres, it's nothing but his/her fault. and i dont think he suffered because of tyres even one bit as we have witnessed.

[primer]

Hankook vs Kumho!

We'll have a new betting category: first tire explosion on which lap? Which manufacturer?

Bring it on!

[pingu666]

single tyre guys always get crap thrown at them

[SpaMaster]

cr@p argument. great driver would still be great under any circumstances at any era. if that Finnish driver cant perform on certain tyres, it's nothing but his/her fault. and i dont think he suffered because of tyres even one bit as we have witnessed.

Who said anything about any Finnish driver not being able to perform on Bridgestones? Bridgestone were crap. There are lot of negative things one can say about them. It is just that that Finnish driver would testify that. For that matter, lot of other drivers were not happy about Bridgestones either.

My main gripes about them are tyres with the right construction that would offer grip without degrading so much, and their inconsistency. Their shenanigans to push for race tyre choice that are two level apart, with the intention to spice up racing in a silly way is also ridiculous.

You can ask all the present drivers to rate their tyres. I bet the average won't be more than 5 out of 10.

[nada12]

cr@p argument. great driver would still be great under any circumstances at any era. if that Finnish driver cant perform on certain tyres, it's nothing but his/her fault. and i dont think he suffered because of tyres even one bit as we have witnessed.

I agree. But what does this have to do with my post?

[WebBerK]

Hankook vs Kumho!

We'll have a new betting category: first tire explosion on which lap? Which manufacturer?

Bring it on!

Hankook already does Euro F3, Le Mans and Rally.

[ashnathan]

I hope Michelin takes up the position, but they won't because the reason why they withdrew is because they don't believe in spec tyres and arent interested unless they are competing against another make, or something along those lines. hope they changed their mind though. Could be a shock, kimi could get his blistering speed back and if what was said about lewis on michelin tyres being 'rubbish' maybe put rest to that aswell?

[raiseyourfistfor]

HUH?! Wow that is unexpected. Please don't go back to tire wars though. All it does is ruin the racing - look at MotoGP the last few years.

Michelin said that they don't want to bother supplying the whole grid so I doubt they would do it.

[mkay]

I hope Michelin takes up the position, but they won't because the reason why they withdrew is because they don't believe in spec tyres and arent interested unless they are competing against another make, or something along those lines. hope they changed their mind though. Could be a shock, kimi could get his blistering speed back and if what was said about lewis on michelin tyres being 'rubbish' maybe put rest to that aswell?

We'll still race on slicks, so I really doubt it's going to change a lot from now.

[Arion]

I hope Michelin takes up the position, but they won't because the reason why they withdrew is because they don't believe in spec tyres and arent interested unless they are competing against another make, or something along those lines. hope they changed their mind though. Could be a shock, kimi could get his blistering speed back and if what was said about lewis on michelin tyres being 'rubbish' maybe put rest to that aswell?

doesn't Michelin supply tyres to WS Renault, a spec series?

[zarooch]

yeaaa~!! bring back michellin!!

[muramasa]

I agree. But what does this have to do with my post?

just been sick of all those talks that some people repeatedly and blindly attribute relative drop of performance of certain drivers (particularly Kimi and Alonso) to tyres.

i apologize for misreading your post.

[Arion]

HUH?! Wow that is unexpected. Please don't go back to tire wars though. All it does is ruin the racing - look at MotoGP the last few years.

Michelin said that they don't want to bother supplying the whole grid so I doubt they would do it.

Agree on tyre war.

people say BS tyres are crappy, I think Michelin would be worse, they simply don't have the same resources as BS.

[V8 Fireworks]

Racing drivers want tyres with more lateral grip and more longitudinal grip, they would also like less wear and more traction. Shock !!!!



Earnhardt Jr wants to get old car with lots of downforce (for a NASCAR anyway) back too, ain't gonna get that either.... Maybe Hamilton is rubbish on Michelins? Maybe Webber would be closer to Vettels on grooves? Maybe Kimi is the world's fastest driver on Michelins?


Well the tyres are what they are, and they should all tune their cars to the tyres that are provided with instead of the (very expense to do) other way round........

[muramasa]

Who said anything about any Finnish driver not being able to perform on Bridgestones? Bridgestone were crap. There are lot of negative things one can say about them. It is just that that Finnish driver would testify that. For that matter, lot of other drivers were not happy about Bridgestones either.

My main gripes about them are tyres with the right construction that would offer grip without degrading so much, and their inconsistency. Their shenanigans to push for race tyre choice that are two level apart, with the intention to spice up racing in a silly way is also ridiculous.

You can ask all the present drivers to rate their tyres. I bet the average won't be more than 5 out of 10.

Bridgestone were crap? really? that's pretty much overstatement and oversimplification. they sure had strings of issues but i rarely seen tyres in terrible condition after the race.


agree with the problem they faced tho, that's what weve seen.

however, last year there was complain about 2 compounds being too similar. i think they shouldve abandoned mandatory use of 2 tyres in a race after the first few rounds this year tho.

there will be problems if they bring only one type of tyres each GP.

they could provide several, completly different types of tyres, but it costs alot and who would do such things in current economic situation?

about grip without degrading, that's easier said than done, grip and degradation comes together, and that's where challenge is.

problems Bridgestone faced is what should happen with single supplier. needless to say, there is another problems with tyre war. you'll go nowhere if you dont see this and only blame Bridgestone.


what Bridgestone (plus FIA, dont forget) has done is far from ideal, but they struggled and tried and coped in tough demands and difficult situation.

[nada12]

just been sick of all those talks that some people repeatedly and blindly attribute relative drop of performance of certain drivers (particularly Kimi and Alonso) to tyres.

i apologize for misreading your post.

No problem, after re-reading my post I can see how you could interpret it that way. But it wasnt my intention to excuse anyone's relative performance.

[saunarobot]

I hope they will get rid of the idiotic 2 compound per race rule and let the drivers have whatever is brought to the track.

[KWSN - DSM]

It is what it is.

We will either get a new round of bidding, for a tire manufacturer be the single supplier, or some sort of 'open' rules are cerated (2 suppliers, have to supply minimum half the grid, 3 suppliers, have to supply minimum 1/3 the grid).

Were Pirelli not the odd commpany out during the last round of bidding? How are their finances? I am pretty sure that they would like to be the tires on a championship winning Ferrari.

[Melbourne Park]

People blame BS, but first we should recall that BS asked the FIA to change the rules so that the front tyres for 2009 were narrower, in order to retain car balance for the newly slick tyred 2009 cars. But the FIA said no, due to a team or two vetoing the change.

Its convenient too to blame BS for the change this season, to running "paired" tyre types - in other words, instead of super soft and mediums, BS changed mid season that combination to either super soft and softs, or to softs and mediums. That was a hugely radical change - made mid season - but perhaps the FIA were behind it?

If one looks at just those two issues, the FIA is he party to blame IMO, not BS.

Afterall the logical tyre supply would have been for BS to allow teams to simply choose which tyres they wanted. But it was the FIA that put in all sorts of what were really artificial changes to what the teams would have really wanted IMO.

So the problem points IMO to the cost of tyre supplies, and to the FIA. With new leadership, perhaps the FIA will work things out a lot better.

I would suggest that they have two suppliers, that they supply 4 types of tyres, but that the teams can choose at the race weekend what tyres they want to use. As simple as that IMO. If the tyre companies want to compete with each other, that would be up to them. And maybe then we'd get Michelin back ...

I wonder about the bikes? Are BS just pulling out of F1? If they are, is that a slap in the face of the new FIA leadership?

Edited by Melbourne Park, 02 November 2009 - 07:56.

[lewisdg]

This is a difficult one to know what will happen after they leave.....at the end of 2010 the 'world' should be in a better state but we cannot go back to the old days of the likes of Ferrari spending £50k for a set of special tyres that only work in absolute certain conditions...that get sent out to the track by sending somebody out with the tyres as luggage......then when the weather changed the tyres would not get used and just get slashed !!

[airwise]

If F1 is unattractive to Bridgestone, who already have all the necessary infrastructure in place in the UK, I would imagine the other majors would take a similar view. F1 is simply too expensive in the current climate. A return to tyre wars is something no one wants or can afford. A low budget control tyre seems most likely.

Roll on 2011. I suspect it will be like the Premiership with all the players wearing Doc Martens.

[bogi]

[primer]

If F1 is unattractive to Bridgestone, who already have all the necessary infrastructure in place in the UK, I would imagine the other majors would take a similar view. F1 is simply too expensive in the current climate.

The solution is clear: F1 will have to pay retail price for its tires.