White tire markings better than green

New Bridgestone green tire markings for soft tires are hard to see

(GMM) Norbert Haug believes Bridgestone should consider altering its method for visibly distinguishing the two compounds of tires on offer at grands prix in 2009.

With grooves being replaced by slicks for this season, it was no longer possible to paint the inside of a middle groove of the softest tires white.

A month before the 2009 season, following extensive winter testing, F1's official tire supplier said it would instead paint green circles around the inside and outside edges of the sidewalls.

The color green was selected to show Bridgestone's support for the FIA's Make Cars Green environmental campaign.

However, in Melbourne last weekend, television viewers – including teams figures in the garages and on the pitwall – at times expressed difficulty in identifying the green markings.

The problem may have been worsened by the evening sun.

To heighten the importance of the matter, the significance of the tires being used this season has increased, given Bridgestone's new policy of skipping a specification.

For example, in Melbourne the 'medium' tire was the specification of choice in the race, because the much softer 'super soft' significantly lost performance even after a lap or two.

"Perhaps the contrast of white on black is better than green on black," Mercedes' Haug admitted to motorsport-total.com. "It is something to think about," he added.