The finger pointing has begun

neilap · 8 Jul 2003, 21:31 (Ref:656256)

I dont mean to wear this subject out but here is and article where all does not seem to be well in the Bridgestone household...

Many observers put the blame on Bridgestone for the Scuderia Ferrari's lacklustre performances in the last two races. Of course the Bridgestone engineers do not agree with this allegation !

"Things are not as simple as we generally think," said the technical director of Bridgestone at Magny- Cours. "Our tyre choices were approved by our partners. If there is a drop in our tyres' performance, we could improve the situation but I think that it is not only because of that."

This opinion is not shared by Jacques Villeneuve : "The Ferrari is the best car on the grid but in the last races it suffered because of its tyres." said the Canadian. "The positive thing for Ferrari is that they were able to do rather well in these circumstances. As for myself, the best Bridgestone tyres that I got this year were at the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne..."

Jacques Villeneuve's opinion is harsh but the BAR driver is known to say out loud what many others don't dare to articulate. Niki Lauda has his own idea on the situation, a position that is only slightly more subtle than the Canadian's. "The Scuderia is in a crisis and the Williams are now the fastest," said the Austrian. "It is true that in the last two races, Ferrari did not have the right tyres but it seems to me that the F2003-GA was not on top. They will have to reverse the situation very quickly."

The most optimistic comments about Ferrari were surprisingly coming from Michelin's Pierre Dupasquier, who refuses to celebrate too quickly : "A crisis at Ferrari ? They put a car on the podium this weekend ! Today, reliability is their biggest asset so I am not sure that they are on their way to lose the championship."

We know the tires are inferrior but what implications could this mean for the Ferrari/Bridgestone realtionship?

The article is from f1live.

BD · 8 Jul 2003, 21:48 (Ref:656268)

they will improve. Ferrari will be fine.

**Adam43** · 8 Jul 2003, 22:17 (Ref:656291)

Frankly I think this is a storm in a tea cup. No one has a sense of perspective - either in the press that report such stuff, or us who read it.

Dutton · 9 Jul 2003, 00:05 (Ref:656388)

It is clear Bridgestone needto improve, and the looming 7-week ban might make that more difficult. However, things can change quickly in F1. None of us really know what is going on.

We just have to wait and see.

TeddyG · 9 Jul 2003, 01:11 (Ref:656413)

What was James Allen going on about during the French GP about how Bridgestone are supposedly coming out with all new types of revolutionary compounds and shapes, etc, etc for Silverstone? Did anyone else hear him going on about that or was I just daydreaming?

Nevertheless it lead me to belive Bridgestone are going to make a big jump at the next GP. But as the report indicates Ferrari will probably be the only team who gets the good stuff.

**Adam43** · 9 Jul 2003, 07:12 (Ref:656540)

Reading my last comments are a bit harsh! However, it is a sport, a competition, surely one team is always going to be better. Bridgestone and Ferrari must work hard to try and be the best, which, I am sure, they are doing. Just like all of the teams do and have done.

429CJ · 9 Jul 2003, 17:26 (Ref:657102)

Michelin really benefits not having all eggs in the same basket.

**Bononi** · 9 Jul 2003, 19:23 (Ref:657234)

Quote:

Originally posted by AdamAshmore
Frankly I think this is a storm in a tea cup. No one has a sense of perspective - either in the press that report such stuff, or us who read it.

Exactly. Just a little weakness showed by Ferrari, and the whole press say they're finished.

ASCII Man · 9 Jul 2003, 19:45 (Ref:657257)

I sincerely hope they're finished...

**Bononi** · 9 Jul 2003, 19:55 (Ref:657272)

We'll be good to all to see the Williams on top for the next couple of years...

BMW V10 · 9 Jul 2003, 20:20 (Ref:657296)

Yeah I would love to see the Williams winning consistently but you can't count out McLaren either...

**Adam43** · 10 Jul 2003, 12:18 (Ref:657828)

Quote:

Originally posted by Bononi
Exactly. Just a little weakness showed by Ferrari, and the whole press say they're finished.

Here is the latest example of that. A couple of bad, actually no, average performances and it prompts the press to do this:

"Bridgestone denies F1 withdrawal rumours "

http://www.autosport.com/newsitem.asp?id=23774&s=5

Red · 10 Jul 2003, 12:22 (Ref:657832)

Jeeez.... and people ask me why I "love" journalists....

neilap · 10 Jul 2003, 13:11 (Ref:657875)

Pollock,

"If you put the whole field on Bridgestone or Michelin, you would see Ferrari on the pole position, and then you would have a fight between Williams, McLaren and BAR for who would be in the second spot," Pollock says. "The perception is so terrible because we are on the wrong tire."

More finger pointing.

**Adam43** · 10 Jul 2003, 16:50 (Ref:658039)

He's probably right, apart from the thing about BAR fighting McLaren and Williams!

Things like this happen in competition. It's bad if you are on the wrong tyre. That is all he's saying and he is right.

Inigo Montoya · 10 Jul 2003, 18:46 (Ref:658129)

Well the Jordans and Ferraris are going well today at Montmelo, perhaps a sign that Bridgestone has made a step forward?

**Adam43** · 10 Jul 2003, 19:25 (Ref:658168)

Well that just goes to show that Michelin has dropped the ball! I can see the headlines now "Michelin denies F1 withdrawal rumours "

TeddyG · 11 Jul 2003, 00:19 (Ref:658382)

What was James Allen going on about during the French GP about how Bridgestone are supposedly coming out with all new types of revolutionary compounds and shapes, etc, etc for Silverstone? Did anyone else hear him going on about that or was I just daydreaming?

Nevertheless it lead me to belive Bridgestone are going to make a big jump at the next GP. But as the report indicates Ferrari will probably be the only team who gets the good stuff.

Andrew2001 · 11 Jul 2003, 01:08 (Ref:658406)

This is fantastic. In hindsight, this was always going to happen!!
Innitially, Michelin would struggle to come to terms with F1, and Bridgestone having the best team and experience reigned supreme in the first year, but then Michelin cracked the surfcae quickly found that their tyres are great in the intense heat, and won races with Williams.
McLaren came on board, for a consolidation year which saw alot of learning and testing. And voila, over a single winter, Michelin have completely out-shone the Bridgestone-Ferraris.
Sure, they have faired quite well, still scored some handy points, but, the tables are turning. I believe JPM, Ralf and Kimi wuill all overtake MS in this years WC if reliability from the cars does not come into play.
Ferrari have nothing left to fight with, their tyre suppliers have no where to go to test new things, just one team and two cars, Michelin has so much more room to manoevre, fantastic and well applied strategy by the French, they have three top teams with 6 very quick cars all now capable of mixing it with Ferrari.
Just to underline Schumacher's brilliance, imagine if he wasn't there right now....just look at Barrichello's performance,

HANAA KIMI!

BMW V10 · 11 Jul 2003, 05:56 (Ref:658524)

If bridgestone bounce back it will be trouble for the BMW's as Silverstone is already expected to be slower for Michelins than usual. Kimi has not done too well lately I expect Ralf to pass him but am not sure about RS catching MS...

Kicking-back · 11 Jul 2003, 16:18 (Ref:658936)

Quote:

Originally posted by BMW V10
Kimi has not done too well lately

He's doing a brilliant job!

If he hadn't had an engine failure while leading at the Nurburgring he'd still be leading the championship.

Some people are very quick to criticise....

BMW V10 · 11 Jul 2003, 17:49 (Ref:659025)

Sorry Kicking-back I meant points wise compared to his rivals. He is driving well but is losing some ground which is not always his fault. I am not criticising him I think he is one of the best drivers out on the grid

Gt_R · 13 Jul 2003, 05:49 (Ref:659863)

==
Quote from F1-live"Until the Canadian GP, we were at the same level as our competitor," said Hirohide Hamashima, Development manager at Bridgestone. "Our progress was on par with them but it was not the case in the last few weeks. Nevertheless, I don't think that it was only because of the quality of the Michelin tyres but also because of the progress made by their partners."

Hisao Suganuma, Technical manager at Bridgestone, doesn't have the answers to all his questions : "After the European GP, our situation was rather confused. We analysed the data but we were not able to understand what happened. We were not competitive enough and we didn't know why. Today, we are still not sure if it is because of our tyres. As for the French GP, we have no excuse : it's our fault. Even if the Nurburgring and Magny-Cours are two very different tracks, the same problem occurred : a general lack of grip."
==

Why do i get the impression that Bridgestone is trying to reduce their responsibility of their lack of performance? Read " Nevertheless, I don't think that it was only because of the quality of the Michelin tyres but also because of the progress made by their partners." and "Today, we are still not sure if it is because of our tyres."

BAR had a pretty good car bar reliability. F2003 is a car one second quicker than the F2002 on similar tyres, which in itself is a car comparable to an undeveloped FW25. And don't forget, Mclaren used a improved version of LAST year's car. And though no doubt both teams Williams and Mclaren would have improved their machines, Ferrari don't stand still, and in all probabilities still have the best car(minus tyre-factor).

Bridgestone have to really wake up to the reality that they have screwed up their tyres and were caught napping.

TeddyG · 13 Jul 2003, 08:08 (Ref:659890)

Only emphasises the point that last year the Bridgestones were so far more superior than the Michelin's it made the Ferrari appear even more untouchable.
I'm so glad the shoe is on the other foot this time around and Ferrari's reign of boredom has ended. Only problem is that BAR are on the same sh1t tires

...man that team can't catch a break!
Also is it possible for everyone to opt for Michelin tyres next year? What are the rules on that? Why would anyone, at this point, want to sign with Bridgestone for next year?
Finally did anyone hear those comments by James Allen I mentioned in my earlier posts????!

pole2pole · 13 Jul 2003, 13:37 (Ref:660017)

Yes TeddG I heard those comments that James Allen made during the last GP the one thing I didnt understand about his comments was when he said about different shapes of tyres what the hell is that all about. In relation to the crisis at ferrari my views may sound a bit harsh but I am so glad to see ferrari and bridgestone droping of the top of the ladder. Over the last couple of years bridgestone and ferrari have worked in such a way that anyone else on bridgestone rubber had to use tailor made ferrari tyres, this whole tyre issue even stems back to the goodyear days....do you remember when all of a sudden goodyear brought out a wider front tyre its purpose was to aid ferraris front end handling problems. I remember an interview with JV on that season (thats when he was driving the red williams) he was going into that season as world champion and he said that the williams was a great car and was looking very promising until the new wider front goodyears came along and there whole performance was out the window. Tyres have played a massive part in ferraris success and its only this season that we are witnessing how important and how much ferrari have depended on tyre performance. Could that be the reason why ferrari always want the whole tyre thing to go there way? If I was to point the finger of blame it would be shared between ferrari and bridgestone.....take alook at michelin you dont see them gathering around one team.

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