Bridgestone confirms ‘white groove’ marking

(GMM) F1 tire supplier Bridgestone has confirmed expectations that it will change the method for visibly differentiating the two compounds of tires for the Malaysian grand prix and beyond.

After the 3cm white dot on the softer tire proved too difficult to see in Melbourne, a statement on Monday said: "The (soft tire in Malaysia) will feature a marking along the bottom of the second from inside groove to distinguish it."

The 'white groove' solution was tested last week at Sepang, after simply increasing the size and changing the color of the Australian GP-style sidewall dot proved ineffective.

Bridgestone's head of track engineering Kees van de Grint commented of the new solution: "This has received a positive response from teams and onlookers at the test.

"It is time consuming to apply to the tires but is clearly visible on track."