Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development
What was significant about today's running?
"Today it was good to see Formula One cars back at the Nurburgring after a year away. It was a cold reception we received from the weather, so maintaining tyre temperature was a challenge. The cold weather and also the wind experienced here makes matters difficult, however a second covered the top thirteen cars in the afternoon, which shows that everyone is very close on pace for this weekend."
How do you expect this allocation to work over the weekend?
"It's an interesting circuit here and, as illustrated today, there is always the factor of the weather too. After the British Grand Prix there was a lot of talk of tyre temperatures and how the front running teams and drivers use their tyres. I would not be surprised if that is also a topic this weekend. If it stays cold like today then the super soft could even be the preferred race tyre. For the medium compound, getting temperature into the tyre is the challenge, for the super soft, minimising graining is the challenge."