A race everyone remembers - the 2000 Belgian GP

2000 - our second year as sole supplier. McLaren and Ferrari had been battling it out since 1998, but their rivalry was gradually changing its aspect. Bridgestone was playing a significant part in this. By supplying the same tyres impartially to both teams, we ensured that the races this year were fairer and therefore more exciting than ever. The most dramatic of all was the thirteenth race of the season, the Belgian Grand Prix. This high speed battle between Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen earned a lasting place in Formula One history.
Hamashima still becomes excited whenever he talks about this race, and its epic clash of wills:

"It was an incredible race. Schumacher was in the lead, with Hakkinen jostling to overtake. On the 41st lap, they were coming out of Eau Rouge heading up the Kemmel Straight and about to lap Ricardo Zonta in his BAR. Just before the end of the straight, Schumacher took Zonta on the outside at the same time as Hakkinen roared past on the inside. Entering the bend, Hakkinen proved faster and smartly took the lead from Schumacher. Of all the things I saw in 14 years of Formula One, this topped them all."

This historic overtaking manoeuvre took place on a circuit that was still wet in many places. The two drivers showed their superb strategic skills in the way they utilised the difficult conditions.

"The video shows the two cars battling it out with only 30 cm between them, as they avoided going onto the wet curb. These two drivers obviously had enormous respect for each other. That's why their battle was so exciting. I don't mind saying it again - I'm still lost in admiration for this race. It's my personal all-time favourite, without a doubt."

The start of a new partnership with Ferrari

Mid way through the 2000 season came a startling piece of news: Michelin had decided to return to Formula One. For us at Bridgestone, it came like a bolt out of the blue. Hamashima's first reaction was to wonder if it could really be true. Yasukawa, in charge of Bridgestone's F1 management, had a different response: "Which teams are we going to lose?"

Yasukawa: "It looked to me that BMW and Toyota's decision to enter Formula One had spurred Michelin to return. When we stopped being sole supplier, this would obviously mean that some teams would switch to Michelin. I started asking around to see who intended to stay with us, and was immensely pleased with Ferrari's reply: 'Of course we will always stick with Bridgestone.'"

That cemented a close relationship with Ferrari that would last right until we retired from Formula One racing. When Yasukawa visited the Ferrari factory around that time, he declared "The atmosphere here reminds me so much of Bridgestone." Ferrari was also a company that felt like a family in the way it was organised. They even had company accommodation and an art museum close by the Ferrari main plant, just like we did. However, there was one thing that worried Yasukawa.

"Looking at the history of the company, I noticed that Ferrari had a tendency to sometimes blame any poor performance on the tyres they were using. I figured this from news reports in back numbers of motor magazines. When I had the chance, I discussed this issue with Jean Todt, and he agreed with me that we should both avoid such behaviour. And in fact, all the way to the end of our collaboration with Ferrari, we never had the slightest hint of this kind of trouble. I think that shows just how much we came to trust each other."

From 2000 to 2004, Ferrari's Michael Schumacher would drive on Bridgestone tyres to an unprecedented five consecutive F1 championship titles.

Are Michelin really coming?

Hamashima recalls his sense of disbelief on hearing the first report that Michelin would be returning to F1. What was in it for them? They certainly didn't need to boost their image for reliability in the European market. Indeed, even in 2000 many people in Europe thought Michelin was competing in Formula One, despite Bridgestone being sole supplier. Hamashima really couldn't see the benefit for Michelin in this move.

On the other hand, another thought kept popping up. "At last, our chance for revenge…"

"Back in the 1980s when we first started racing in Europe, they soundly thrashed us. By the 1990s, when we entered the DTM, we had grown a bit more competitive. Maybe we stood a chance this time? I started to think that this could be the big battle."

As the 2000 series progressed, it became clear which teams would go over to Michelin. Big names like Toyota and BMW were followed one by one by other teams. Hamashima was seriously impressed by the drawing power of our rival.

"When we first entered Formula One, we started off with the lower ranked teams. And here Michelin were getting the top teams right away. That was pretty amazing and really shows how solidly based their roots in motor sports were."

No doubt some politics was involved as well, but Michelin were clearly demonstrating just how strong their position was in the world of European motor sports. Their first season hadn't even started yet, and we were already feeling serious pressure from our future rival.

Readying ourselves for the coming battle

"You only call on me when you have some competition to beat!"

Hisao Suganuma laughs as he looks back, remembering his time in the Bridgestone F1 project during our first European attempt in the 1980s. He had always been passionate about wanting to work in F1, and during the off season in 1997 he was finally offered his chance. "You'll be in charge of tyres for the McLaren team from next year." Suganuma remembers those words as if it was yesterday.

"I replied calmly, but inside it was a different matter. Mentally I was punching the air and shouting "Yeah!"'

However, when Goodyear retired from F1, Suganuma was also transferred away from F1. He had spent just one season in his dream position. And now, years later, he was being given a second chance as a member of the Bridgestone team being readied to counter Michelin's challenge.

"At the time, I was in charge of Bridgestone tyre support for other races including DTM, the FIA GT and Japanese events but they wanted me for the big one: 'Michelin is coming. We need you to oversee our new development tests.' So in late 2000 I moved to England and stated the new tests."

These were joint tyre tests, held in the intervals between races. Of course Michelin didn't talk about the tyres they were planning to use, but as Hamashima comments "You could tell from the lap times. To the expert eye, it was pretty clear which tyres they were focused on."

And so the 2000 season continued for us, supplying the ongoing races at the same time as we prepared for the following year's fresh challenge, when once again we would face competition in the shape of our biggest rival.

Learning from the "Firestone Shock"

Although not directly related to F1, a problem this year in the US could not be ignored. This was the Firestone tyre recall. When trouble occurred in some of Ford's SUV range, they tried to shift some blame to the Firestone tyres they used, leading to the recall. The uproar in the media was so great that some even called for Bridgestone to downsize its motor sports activities.

"For all the talk outside, things stayed calm inside the company" recalls Hamashima. "Management stayed level headed and reacted firmly. President Kaizaki told us 'Stick with the Indy racing. If we stop, that will be the end.' So internally there was never the slightest thought of giving up on motor sports. Lucky for us, eh?"

Throughout all this, Bridgestone was receiving encouragement from American fans. And we got messages of support from US Indy racing drivers.

Hamashima heard from the father and son racing team of Andretti: "Don't worry, Firestone is OK with us. No problems on the race track!"

These messages of support went a long way in persuading fans to stay loyal. And the way that the opinions of top drivers could so greatly influence regular car users impressed us deeply - motor sports in the US and Europe clearly had much higher prestige than in Japan.