The news over the weekend that Bridgestone is to pull out of manufacturing tyres for Formula 1 was quite unexpected. Given that Bridgestone has been the tyre supplier since 1997 and the announcement came without any preamble, you have to wonder what the rationale is. The investment over the last 13 years from Bridgestone must have been significant and - despite some quality issues a few years back - they have benefited from high profile exposure at the very top of motorsport even becoming sole provider in 2007. So why quit now when Formula 1 appears to be entering one of its most exciting periods for a long time? The line from Bridgestone is that they want to focus more on "innovative developments", though quite what better showcase than Formula 1 there is for any new developments I really don't know! Bridgestone will however keep involved with GP2 and MotoGP. While Bridgestone claim that economic conditions are not behind this decision it follows a period when they have already closed plants in Australia and New Zealand. Bridgestone will remain with F1 until the end of the 2010 season, giving the sport a year to find a new supplier, so who will it be? One post on Twitter suggested with the return of Lotus we could see a return of the "old days" with Lotus AND Avon back in the F1 world! But actually perhaps that's not out of the realms of possibility as Avon has a long history of supplying the feeders to F1 and are now official sponsor of F2. I guess this is just another challenge for the FIA, but perhaps a new name, or the return of an old name,to replace Bridgestone will be good for the sport.
David
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This does seem an extremely odd decision, especially considering that the F1 has never had so much exposure. With British drivers like Hamilton and Button winning two consequetive titles, the sport is becoming more and more popular with previously oblivious fans. Many of my girlfriends will now ask me "so I hear Hamilton is on pole position this weekend"... this coming from girls who dont actually know what an exhaust is, because, like many sports in the UK, as soon as we're doing well, people will follow. Therefore Bridgestone's decision is a suspicious one and I reckon we'll learn of the real reason why within a couple of weeks.
ReplyDelete(Vicky)
What makes it even more intriguing os that the brand profile they have had over the last 13 years in enormous, they are also Japanese based where it is said the recession is over - maybe their global trade decline is to blame. As we know a thing or two about PR (allegedly!) the Bridgestone PR guys don't seem to have been putting a postive light on this change at all, so you have to wonder if Bridgestone are in serious trouble.
ReplyDelete(David)