Super Aguri driver Takuma Sato will be watching the performance of the Bridgestone tyres closely over the weekend. Bridgestone are bringing tyres with a very soft compound to the Monaco track to help maximise the mechanical grip around the twisty streets.
The teams have tested the compound already at the Paul Ricard circuit at the end of last week however Sato admitted that it is difficult to prepare for a street circuit. The Monaco track does not have the asphalt that is present on most other circuits, making the track less grippy.
The lack of grip combined with tight corners make it an exciting race every year. Although the Bridgestone tyres will maximise grip because of their softness, they will also degrade faster, so it’s important for the drivers to attempt to look after their tyres.
“We tested both options in Paul Ricard last week,” Sato explained. “But as Monaco is the only street circuit on the calendar and you cannot test on it, it is difficult to reproduce it’s conditions during testing.
“The Monaco streets have such low grip so we shall be using the Bridgestone Potenza very soft compound tyre to maximise the mechanical grip. But if you put too great a force on the tyres, they will not survive. We collected valuable data at Paul Ricard so hopefully we can make them work on our car, but it will be challenging on the supersoft Bridgestone option.”
