Early season challenges

Even though we had decided to retire, Bridgestone's spirit of challenge was as strong if not stronger than ever throughout this year. "We had to give it everything - this was our last chance to show what we could do" comments Hamashima.

One thing we had to do was respond to team complaints that there was too little performance difference between specifications. The two specifications we had supplied in 2009 had turned out to give such similar results that they didn't give teams much chance to come up with differing race strategies. Remedying this was our policy when determining the specs for the 2010 tyres.

Before the start of the 2009, we had tried and failed to get the teams to accept a front tyre size change. This year, we succeeded. Hamashima expressed his satisfaction: "Just as we hoped, the new tyres gave better balance with greatly reduced oversteer."

Another big change this year was the prohibition on refuelling during the race. With extra fuel on board, cars on the starting grid now weighed over 100 kg more than last year. This put a much greater load on the tyres, so we altered the construction of the rear tyres to improve durability.

Will we make it through Turn 8 in Turkey?

At round seven, the Turkish GP, there was just one question for Hamashima and all his staff.

"Could we beat Turn Eight?"

Their bad memories of Turn Eight went back to 2007, when Lewis Hamilton was in third place in his McLaren as he began braking for the start of the turn. The moment he did so, the tread peeled off his right front tyre. Hamashima remembers it vividly.

"Hamilton's driving style perhaps played some part, but effectively it showed us that this course needed an even greater safety margin. From then on, this turn became a constant concern for us."

The measures we took proved successful in 2008, but Turn Eight at Istanbul Park remained the most likely place for tyres to fail in all the Formula One circuits. And now in 2010, conditions had changed - the cars were heavier due to the refuelling ban, and this season's front tyres were narrower. It was always going to be tough. Hamashima confesses: "One part of me - the technical side - was looking forward to the challenge. At the same time, I was keeping my fingers crossed as I stood there by the track hoping nothing would go wrong." In the end, the race and its fearsome corner passed without incident, giving us confidence that our tyres would perform well for the rest of the season.

"Five of the F1 circuits are very tough on tyres: Istanbul Park, Silverstone, Sepang, Monza and Suzuka. Our main technical problem was making tyres that would be safe enough for these circuits while still delivering maximum performance. It was challenges like this that made our years as sole supplier worth while."

However much our simulation technology progressed, it would always remain theoretical. You never knew what would actually happen in the event. That's the nature of races: they're unpredictable. No matter how many times we raced on one of these tyre-unfriendly circuits, they never stopped being extremely tense affairs for us. We'd always have more engineers than usual out at the track, watching how the tyres performed.

Take the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium for example. Eau Rouge corner is world famous - Hamashima says this corner produces more downforce than any other. No matter how many times we successfully take on Eau Rouge, each year the tyres will be different and so the outcome is never certain. "We always think we're getting better. But then comes the test of reality." That's what racing is all about - you can never afford to be complacent.

Kamui Kobayashi, sole Japanese driver in 2010

"I really felt he did well after his F1 debut as replacement driver for Toyota near the end of the 2009 season."

Hamashima is remembering Kamui Kobayashi, who made his debut as a regular driver for Sauber in the 2010 season.

For the first part of the season, Kobayashi suffered a run of poor luck. It wasn't until the seventh round in Turkey that he won his first points, but from then on he settled into his stride. However, when asked if he thinks Kobayashi had grown as a driver over the course of this year, Hamashima surprisingly replied in the negative.

"Rather than during his time in F1, I'd say he learned far more and really progressed during his 2009 GP2 season. In spring of that year, he took the title in the GP2 Asia Series. I think that perhaps went to his head a little, to tell the truth. After that, he faced a lot of problems in the GP2 Series in Europe. But again, I think he learned a great deal from that experience too. And not only on the track - he became familiar with the politics of the sport, and got to know how to work with sponsors. All that was excellent preparation for his entry to F1, and why he quickly achieved good results there. So when you talk about his growth as a driver, I think you have to start a year or two further back."

In Hamashima's view, Kobayashi's best feature is his frankness and honesty with himself. For example, when discussing his team-mate for the first part of 2010, veteran driver Pedro de la Rosa, Kobayashi didn't hesitate to compare his driving unfavourably to de la Rosa's and say how much he had to learn from the more experienced driver. He was always able to see himself objectively, and be prepared to listen to others' views. In Hamashima's opinion, "That's why he was able to start racking up results in his first year."

Sebastian Vettel, 2009 F1 champion, had been Kobayashi's teammate during their days in Formula Three and thinks very highly of his skills: "I still have no idea how Kamui could take that corner so much faster than me. I couldn't imagine myself going through it at that speed, and yet he cleared it easily." Hamashima comments that such praise from one of F1's top drivers is a sure sign that we will see great things from Kamui Kobayashi in future.

From our Japanese fans, an unforgettable sendoff

Suzuka Circuit holds special significance for Bridgestone, and not simply because this is our home turf. It was the circuit where we conducted our very first F1 tyre tests. And it was the circuit where we took our first F1 title. It was also at Suzuka that Michael Schumacher clinched the first of a spectacular run of titles after his comeback in 2000. Hamashima: "Suzuka is full of memories for us. Overcoming the difficult course layout here was the spur that helped us progress so fast with our tyre development."

For our final Suzuka GP, we hosted special events every day on the GP Square stage, and naturally Hamashima was there to enjoy this final Japanese GP with our fans. On Saturday, the qualifying session was called off because of rain. It moved Hamashima greatly to see that a large audience had still turned out for our event and were sitting on the wet ground enjoying the talk show.

"During the race weekend, I stayed at the circuit hotel and walked to the paddock each morning. One day I saw this incredible sight - all these flags saying things like 'Thank you, Bridgestone!' and 'Come back soon!' I was quite overwhelmed. Their passion made me more determined than ever to make sure the technology we'd developed for F1 would be used in our road tyres, and in other categories of motor sports."

I guess Japan may be the only country where a tyre manufacturer can attract such a level of fan support. It certainly showed us that our Japanese fans appreciated all the effort we had committed to Formula One racing. And we greatly appreciated the thanks they were showing us.

Formula One - the ultimate learning experience

Bridgestone first took on the challenge of international motor sports at the start of the 1980s, gaining experience in many categories, from the Le Mans 24 Hours to the German Touring Car Masters (DTM) and IndyCar Series, with each of these leading us, step by step, closer to our ultimate goal. 1997 was the year we made that goal and began a 14-year participation in Formula One, the pinnacle of world motor racing. It was a hectic 14 years, a constant round of tough challenges with never time to take a breath. Now that those battles are over and we have finally retired from the F1 stage, we asked the two men most involved for their comments.

Hiroshi Yasukawa oversaw the management of our F1 activities as Director of Bridgestone Motorsport.

"I think of Formula One as being like a school that attracts the very top people in racing. We learned an enormous amount there, and we will always be proud of what we achieved. For Bridgestone the significance of those years in F1 is incalculable."

The other key figure driving our F1 project was Hirohide Hamashima.

"The most important thing is what we do next. We have to standardise and formulate all the lessons we learned from F1 if we are to put them to practical use. Especially, we need to take the technology developed in F1 and apply it to our current involvement with Super GT racing in Japan. We have to do more than just make up a manual - we have to form these skills and knowledge into a living corporate tradition, one that will be applied and continually updated."

Bridgestone leaves behind a significant record in the history of Formula One.
As well as achievements on the track, those years were extremely beneficial for our technical development capabilities. F1 added tremendous value to the Bridgestone brand, and generated human resources that will undoubtedly be of great use in our future endeavours.
And of course, we hope that the things we achieved in those years will live on in the memories of our fans, who so faithfully followed us throughout our F1 challenge.