Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development
What was significant about today's running?
"The first day at Interlagos is always a challenge and today was no different. The track surface was dirty and wet from drizzle and the weather was cooler than we expected. The temperature meant that the medium compound took a little longer to warm-up. Even so, both compounds worked well. The super soft has more grip however we saw graining on the front and rear tyres. Some drivers reported a moving sensation from the rear with the super soft, and this is a characteristic of the softer compound rubber."
How do you expect this allocation to work over the weekend?
"We have to look to the skies for the answer to that question. As we saw last year, rain can be a very big factor here and many forecasts predict more rain over the weekend. For qualifying with the temperature similar to today we can expect the super soft to be the favoured tyre. For the race the medium compound should be the favoured tyre, although some competitors might find good results with the super soft."