Bridgestone Valencia Report
Barrichello took his tenth career win in a highly tactical race, where Bridgestone's soft and super soft tires were closely matched. He led pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) across the line by 2.3 seconds whilst Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver Kimi Raikkonen finished third.
Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport:
"Congratulations to Rubens on taking the 150th win on Bridgestone Potenza F1 tires. We are very proud to have supported so many drivers in their Formula One World Championship victories over the past 13 seasons but it is apt that Rubens, who has been on Bridgestone tires for all but a season since we entered in 1997, should take this special victory. When Bridgestone started as a tire supplier to Formula One it was on slick tires. Since then, there have been several evolutions in tire technologies and specifications but throughout we have received the fantastic support of the teams, FIA and FOM. We have also seen tremendous growth in the brand awareness of our company around the globe and much of this can be attributed to our F1 related activities. We would like to thank all involved in F1 for their support. We are now in the second of a three year Official Tire Supplier tenure and look forward to seeing many more exciting battles on our tires."
Hirohide Hamashima – Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tire Development:
"I am very happy to see Rubens win. He first used our F1 tires in 1997 so it is fantastic that he still has the competitive spirit to win in this highly competitive sport. We are pleased with the performance of both the soft and the super soft Bridgestone Potenzas today. The circuit improved very rapidly, as expected, and as a result drivers could be competitive using the super soft over a stint at the start. The soft was the more consistent tire however, and we even saw one-stop strategies. Regarding Kazuki Nakajima's tire, we believe it was a puncture and we are investigating this with the team."