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Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) has taken his fourth win of the season, and fourth
in his career on Bridgestone Potenza tyres, after a dominant performance in
the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps.
 Raikkonen led away from the first all-Ferrari front row of the season and
used a medium-medium-soft tyre strategy to win by 4.6 secs from team-mate
Felipe Massa, who used the same tyre strategy. Fernando Alonso (McLaren
Mercedes) finished in third, 14.3 seconds behind Raikkonen. Massa set the
fastest lap, a 1min 48.036secs on lap 34, using the soft compound.
Spa Francorchamps stayed uncharacteristically dry, meaning that neither
Bridgestone's wet or extreme wet Potenza tyres were used this weekend. Over
a race stint duration, the performance of both the medium and soft compound
were very similar. Eight of the finishers, including the race winner, used a
medium-medium-soft strategy. A one-stop medium-soft choice was used by five
finishers, with Heikki Kovalainen (Renault) scoring a point for eighth place
by this means. Each one of the four further finishers used a different
strategy.
Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes) stays in the lead of the drivers'
championship with 97 points, two points ahead of Alonso. Raikkonen stays in
third place with 84 points. Ferrari now lead the constructors' championship
with 161 points and cannot be beaten after McLaren Mercedes were excluded
from this year's championship. BMW Sauber are in second place with 90 points
and Renault are in third on 39.
Bridgestone Potenza Formula One tyres will next be in race action at the
Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix at Mount Fuji on September 28-30 where
Bridgestone's medium and soft compound Potenza tyres will once more be used.
Kees van de Grint, Bridgestone Motorsport Head of Track Engineering
Operations said:
"What a beautiful day at a fantastic circuit! Both of our two compounds
worked excellently today. Considering the downforce levels used the tyres
provided sufficient grip at this difficult circuit. The medium and soft
Bridgestone Potenzas allowed for either a one or two stop strategy and we
saw a good range of choices made today. The soft tyre provided more grip,
and to please the Dutch fans the orange Spyker of Adrian Sutil took
advantage of this in two stints and ran as high as twelfth. Degradation was
not a factor, grip was good and we had no problems with wear. However, if we
are critical, we did see some tread damage on some tyres, so there is always
room for improvement. It is certainly good to be back at Spa and we were
rewarded with great weather." |
