The compounds we had prepared for 2003 turned out to be distinctly less resistant to heat than those of our new rival Michelin. This was clearly shown by a humiliating series of defeats in the summer races at Nurburgring, Magny-Cours, Hockenheimring and Hungaroring. Championship leader Michael Schumacher even suffered the indignity of being lapped during the Hungarian GP. Desperate enough to try anything by this point, as the Italian Grand Prix approached (where Ferrari would be racing on their home turf) we decided to go with a completely new concept. Until now, we had been designing tyres that followed the surface. Now we adopted a new approach – increasing the rigidity of the tread to make the tyre keep its shape more. The merit of this is that less rubber movement means less wear. Our gamble paid off - the Italian Grand Prix was a clear victory and by the end of the season our honour was restored – 2003 saw nine wins for Bridgestone, with Schumacher winning seven races to take the championship. Even more important was the lesson we had so painfully learned. From now on, we would always approach tyre design with an open mind, ready to try out new compounds and abandon concepts that weren't working.