24/05/2009
NEWS STORY
Brawn GP driver Jenson Button used a two stop, super soft - soft - soft tyre strategy to win a fast paced and tactical Monaco Grand Prix in hot and sunny conditions on the streets of Monte Carlo.
Button finished 7.6 seconds ahead of team-mate Rubens Barrichello, who used the same tyre strategy. The final podium position went to Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver Kimi Raikkonen who used a soft - soft - super soft tyre strategy for third. His team-mate Felipe Massa used the same strategy to finish fourth, showing a return to form for the reigning constructors' champions. Massa used the soft tyre to set the race's fastest lap, a 1min 15.154secs, on lap 50.
Tyre strategy was particularly relevant in Monaco, with the track surface evolving significantly over the course of the race making it even more difficult than usual to predict the best strategy.
Hiroshi Yasukawa - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport: Congratulations to Jenson Button and the Brawn GP Team for their fifth win of the season. Winning in Monaco is a special honour as here is the ultimate test of driving skill and one of the biggest tests of our Bridgestone tyres. It is a privilege to be here and see the Bridgestone brand broadcast on televisions around the world from this fabulous location.
Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development: Today was very interesting in terms of tyre strategy. Those who started on the super soft Bridgestone experienced a bigger tyre performance drop off than those who used it for their final stint. The reason for this is track improvement, as the circuit surface was far more forgiving to the tyres near the end of the race. The level of track improvement could be seen by the race's fastest lap being almost as fast as pole position. Jenson drove very well to get strong performance from the super soft in his first stint, and that helped him for his win. Four cars showed that a one stop strategy was a viable option here. There were many interesting strategies throughout the field today.