Bridgestone to introduce slower tires in ’07
"My understanding is that they're going to use a control tire as a first stage, because they hope to be the successful applicant in 2008," he said, "That obviously goes to tender, and we'll see who comes through, but Bridgestone perhaps sees 2007 as a precursor to 2008, and I think it's their intent to provide their control tires.
"I think what they've got to decide is how much development they want to continue to do, and on what principle we try to do that development, because obviously it's got to be done in a fair way between the teams. I think Bridgestone will probably want to keep some development going because, if it's the case that it's going open again in the future, they can maintain some decent level of technology."
"[Next year's] will be one or two steps back from what we have now, because what we have now is quite an expensive construction, quite an expensive tire to build," he confessed, "I don't think there's any incentive for Bridgestone to be building expensive tires when they're the only supplier in F1.
"I think the ideal situation they've been asked to create is that the teams have an option of a fast, soft tire, or a consistent tire, so teams can have different strategies for the race. It's a very difficult thing to achieve, to pick the exact spot where you can have a quick, soft, but deteriorating tire, and a more consistent slower tire, on every circuit.
"It's quite a difficult thing for Bridgestone to achieve, but that would a nice ideal, because then the teams could vary their approach or their strategies."
"I don't think slicks will be introduced a year earlier in 2007 because it's got to be developed," he surmised, "We don't want to see car speeds develop very much from where they are now, so I don't think a slick will appear in 2007."