Bridgestone has spent a week of intensive testing in preparation for the Monaco Grand Prix, which presents a unique challenge in terms of tyre selection: how to go softer without compromising durability.

The qualities of the low grip, normal road surface of Monaco's street circuit mean that tyres will be the softest seen this year. Choosing tyres, however, is something of a challenge.
Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager of Bridgestone Motorsport, said: “Monaco is one of the most difficult circuits to test and select tyres for. The fact is that we need such a soft compound for Monaco that all the circuits we test on are far too abrasive. A Monaco tyre would not last a lap on a normal purpose built F1 circuit. After two or three corners, there would be significant graining and understeer."

"This means that the tyre selection process for Monaco is quite unique and we have to cooperate with the teams far more closely. We can’t rely on lap times, wear durability or the other normal assessment procedures. We rely more heavily on car data and sector times. Using the latest family of compounds, this year’s tyres are an evolution of those used in 2002. Even with the resurfacing work on the track we believe the circuit will still be very low in grip. Last year’s tyre was an excellent race tyre but we are also confident that the developments we have made recently have produced a good qualifying tyre too. It’s going to be a fascinating weekend!”