The Who will perform at halftime of the Super Bowl this season.

The NFL announced during Thursday’s game between the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys that the longtime rock band known for classic hits such as “Pinball Wizard” and “Baba O’Riley” will play Feb. 7 at Dolphin Stadium in Miami.

Driven by singer Roger Daltrey and guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend, the band’s two remaining original members, The Who gained fame in the mid-1960s and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

Recent halftime acts at the Super Bowl have included Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Prince and the Rolling Stones.

The Super Bowl halftime show is sponsored by Bridgestone.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Colourful hand made NJS keirin track frames

Track Supermarket Blog

Kodaira, Tokyo would be our destination for the second factory study tour. There are various companies center such as Toyota, Honda, NEC, Bridgestone etc.

After about 1.5 hours trip, finally, we arrived in the Bridgestone`s Offices. This area consists of some offices and factories. The welcome was simple and effective. We arrived in front of the main office and an officer leads us to a big meeting room or it could be a hall. The Bridgestone`s staff explained about the schedule, the procedure and the regulations that we had to know and obey.

Based on the schedule, the first thing that we had to do was the introduction`s presentation. This presentation told us many information. According to this presentation, Bridgestone was found by Shojira Ishibashi on March 1, 1931. What unique is Ishibashi means Bridgestone. So, the founder named his company by its surename. This presentation also informed us that there are at least 3 big companies which hold most of tire`s market in the world. They are Bridgestone, Michelin and Goodyear. And the biggest one is Bridgestone with 16.7% of world`s market.

Bridgestone provides various type of tire based on the function. It provides tires for Cars, Trucks, Bus, Airplane, Motorcycles, Race, and also Construction. In order to provides that various tires, Bridgestone should produce all of the tires. Producing tires needs many kind of materials such as Rubber, Carbon, Tire Cord, Bead Wire, Compounding etc.

After Production process, the tires will be tested by CT Scan, FEM Simulation and Snow Surface. This test is held in order to control the quality of production.

Instead of tires, Bridgestone also produce divers production (19%, 81% is tires) which are consists of rubber inside. For example, Conveyor Belt, Rubber Track, Bath Tub, Seat Pads, Seismic Isolation Rubber, Rubber House etc. The newest invention of Bridgestone in Divers Production is Electronic Paper which will be used in Electronic Sheet Tags. This product has more advantage in Energy Saving and Excellent Visibility.

In the end of this presentation, the HR Manager of Bridgestone also gave us some information about the human resources condition in this company. There are 137.000 employees in this company and not so many foreigner in that number.

After the presentation, there was a video shown to us. The video describes about the production line and process in Bridgestone and also the main function of a tires.

There are at least four main function of a tire;

1. Supporting Vehicle Weight. In this case, a tire should strong enough to support the weight of vehicle and any possibilities which increase the total weight. Instead of that, the tires should soft enough to keep the vehicle to be comfort enough.
2. Transmitting Driving and Breaking Forces. In this case, any shock movement which produce heat because of opposite force of original movement, will be reduced by the tire.
3. Steering Function (Maintaining and Changing Direction). In this case, the changing of direction has to be well controlled because it is crucial for stability and controllability of the vehicle.
4. Absorbing Shock from road surface. In this case, absorbing shock will reduce any vibration. The exact material`s composition of tires is needed.

By the factory tour, we can found at least 6 process of production in Bridgestone. There are Providing material, Mixing Process, Parallel Process (consist of Treading Extruding Process, Carcass Ply Manufacturing Process, Belt Manufacturing Process and Bead Manufacturing Process), Building Process, Vulcanizing Process and Final Check. Most of factory`s process use the temperature, pressure, and physical changes.

In the museum, It is prohibited to take a picture. So, there were no　documentation about it. Despite that, we can found a lot of information about the technology that this company use. For example, Eco Product Simulation, Seismic Isolation Rubber Simulation, Type of tires based on road condition, Raw material mapping, etc.

As a worldwide company, Bridgestone has fulfilled its goal to become a truly global enterprise and to establish the Bridgestone brand as the undisputed world No. 1 brand in both name and substance. And right now, this company is producing another product (human need) and also considering the ecological & environment aspects.

Risvan D.

]]> http://damiencharles.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/mclaren-f1-mp413-1998/ Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:19:52 +0000 Damien Charles http://damiencharles.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/mclaren-f1-mp413-1998/

Dessin réalisé au stylo bille, crayon de couleur et feutre en 1999 et remis à jour sur Photoshop ces dernières semaines…

La McLaren MP4/13 est la monplace qui permit de voir pour la première fois le duo McLaren-Mercedes enlever les championnats Pilotes (avec le Finlandais Mika Häkkinen) et Constructeurs de F1 en 1998, mettant un terme à plusieurs années de disette pour l’équipe de Ron Dennis.

Cette MP4/13 est pourtant apparue tardivement durant les essais d’intersaison et est considérée comme la première McLaren d’Adrian Newey, le concepteur de génie qui remporta le plus de succès en F1 dans les années 90. De ce fait, elle a rapidement fait partie des favorites pour la saison avec la Ferrari F300 et la Williams FW20.

source : wikipedia.org

This Supra was one of my most inexpensive Ebbro models I have purchased and yet is a great piece to have gotten. The detail is perfect and the old school flavor is there in all its glory!

The recently published list of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations, as derived by Innovest, is based on a comprehensive analysis of organisations on four factors; Strategic Governance, Human Capital, Environment and Stakeholder (Not Shareholder) Capital. The Forbes article has been quick to point out that three most admired organisations as of today, Google, Apple and Microsoft, have not featured on the risk because of reasons very particular to them. The way I see it, the factor that stands true for all three of them is that they were all Entrepreneurial ventures to begin with, with clear cut leaders and focus areas. The fact that none of the entrepreneurs behind these three will survive a 100 years, at least two won’t even last another 25 years, is a very important factor. The one attribute common, as per my understanding, to the organisations that do feature on the list is that a majority of them don’t have clear cut leaders on which are the face of the organisation, as is the case with both Apple and Microsoft, are not there. They don’t actually have a face of the organisation, but the organisation itself is a brand in itself, whether through its products/services, logos or size. This is possibly why the authors of the article have stuck to companies without a person representative of their brand. I personally could not think of one person whom I could relate to any of these corporations, which is probably why they are actually sustainable since the responsibility of the organisations representation lays with the organisation itself, and not just with the Entrepreneur himself.

Michelin, the world’s second largest tyre maker, is an Entrepreneurial venture started by André and Edouard Michelin in 1888 to address a gap in the market. It was started when a cyclist with a busted pneumatic tyre approached the brothers, who ran a rubber factory at the time, to fix it. Upon their analysis of the tyre and the fact that it was glued to the rim of the bicycle, they identified a gap in the market in the form of a ‘removable pneumatic tyre’ which didn’t need to be glued to the rim to function properly and could be replaced faster than the conventional pneumatic tyres which took a couple of hours to dry. The brothers filed a patent for the same in 1891.Thereon, the organisation has made a large number of innovations, from improving the design of the pneumatic tyre to the Radial tyre in 1941 to the ActiveWheel system which has motors built into the wheel, and is to be launched in 2012. Michelin is the creator of, arguably the most recognized trademarks in the world, The Michelin Man or Bibendum, which was introduced in 1898 and represents Michelin in over 150 countries. Bibendum is essentially a man made out of numerous stacks of tyres and is used by the organisation in various promotional related activities across the world, and is shown doing a variety of activities in Michelins advertisements.

Innovation then runs in the blood of Michelin. This, for me, is the most prominent feature of an entrepreneurial venture as it is the factor that distinguishes the entrepreneur from the businessman. An Entrepreneur innovates existing products/services and creates one that is more functional or utilitarian, which is exactly what the Michelin brothers established. With tweaks in the design of the pneumatic tyre, they managed to have it grab the rim of the wheel without actually gluing the tyre which essentially allowed the repairing of tyres to become a much quicker and easier job. This transformed the entire industry to develop into what we know it as now. Had this innovation not been thought of, we’d be carrying glue in the back of our vehicles along with the spare tyre. To prove the usability of their version of the pneumatic tyre, the brothers actually scattered nails on the road during a cycle race and depicted to the people there the superiority of their tyre over the conventional tyres. The organisation then went on to focusing on developing tyres for Cars and eventually partnered with Citroën to develop the Radial type tyre.

Michelin, as an organisation, has grown exponentially in the past, especially with the grown in the global auto sector post-world war 2, which was followed by two decades worth of stagnancy, and then growth again beginning the late 1980’s, during which Michelin picked up OEM, or Original Equipment Manufacturer, contracts with General Motors, Volkswagen and Volvo to name a few. The evolution of Michelin as a company was stupendously fast during the first five decades of its existence, mostly because the tyre market was still maturing, along with the auto industry. Off late, especially in the last three decades, Michelins growth has primarily been focussed on motorsports, primarily Le Mans and A1 GP. The primary reason for this focus, as Michelin puts it, is to help develop better tyres for street cars and motorbikes alike. This has proved to be of some substance with Michelin coming up with continual augmentations being made to tyres already being produced. With a decade of research and few tweaks, Michelin has managed to improve its Energy Saver tyres, which reduce fuel consumption by 0.2 litres per 100 Kilometres, and consequently reduce CO2 emissions by up to 4 grams per kilometre. Another innovation which the company is working on is the ‘Tweel’. The Tweel is a replacement for the very invention that took Michelin from Zero to Hero, the Radial tyre. The Tweel is made out of rubber and doesn’t need any air; instead the spokes of the wheel twist and bend as opposed to staying fixed solid. This not only allows for a more comfortable ride as the surface area of the tyre and the wheel are incorporated, but also allows for more flexibility and of course, punctures will be history once this tyre is put into use. These are just few of the many innovations Michelin is working on, which is why it features on the Forbes 100 list of companies that will survive a 100 years. Another reason why Michelin features on the Forbes 100 list is probably that they’re not afraid to admit failure and pull out of a non-profitable or unviable business. They did so with both Formula 1 and MotoGP because they understood that their products weren’t competent enough to go head to head with the master of all circuit racing tyres, Bridgestone. They do, however, still supply tyres to A1 GP and a host of other races where they know they have the cost advantage. This also is conceivably Michelins Achilles heel. Simply because they could not match the functional superiority of Bridgestone, they packed their bags and bid adieu as opposed to developing their product to meet the rigorous requirements of the pinnacle motorsport divisions. 

Michelins success, at least the way I see it, can be attributed to innovation, and by innovation, I refer specifically to those which were required by the market. The fact that Michelin have been able to sustain their spot in the global tyre market, even when competitors with differentiated, and sometimes superior, products have come in to snatch away segments of the market, is a symbol of their unwavering spirit to succeed, which has primarily been done through a deep, clear understanding of market trends and providing what actually mattered, as opposed to anything out of the sandbox. Whether it’s the Energy Saver Tyres, or the Tweel or the ActiveWheel, they are all innovations which have purely been derived out of the need of the market, and not as an attempt to display technological or operational superiority. Michelin, hence, can, and will, survive over a hundred years, because they don’t just change the rules of the game, they change the entire game.

References:

http://www.michelin.com

http://www.michelinman.com

http://www.michelin-passion.com/passion/home/en/home.jsp?lang=EN

http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/28/long-lived-companies-leadership_0128_sustainability.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelin

This season Bridgestone successfully managed a smooth transition from grooved to slick rubber, back in use for the first time in 11 years. Next season there are even more changes in store for Formula One racing’s official tyre supplier. The ban on refuelling, a new track in Korea and the planned adoption of narrower front tyres will all be real challenges for the Japanese company, but Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Hirohide Hamashima can’t wait…

Q: What were the key factors for Bridgestone in 2009?
Hirohide Hamashima: We re-introduced slick tyres and this was a significant change in philosophy in the Formula One regulations away from the grooved tyres of the previous 11 seasons. The aerodynamic regulation changes meant that teams had to work hard to develop and refine their cars though the season, and this was made harder with there being no testing. We worked very closely with all of the teams to help them to achieve their goals in this intense competition. This season we also responded to requests to make a bigger difference between the two different compounds that the regulations stipulate we bring to races. We achieved this with the concept of different temperature working ranges for our tyre allocations and this added another element of challenge for competitors at races.

Q: Which were the most significant factors for the sport this season?
HH: I think that the changes in regulations combined with no testing provided the biggest challenge.
Previously there would be test days all through the season and teams would be able to develop their cars and test parts with the luxury of time and mileage. This year’s change meant that we saw a variety of competitors at the front of the field, and some incredible developments to the cars over the season despite these limiting factors.

Q: Bridgestone used slick tyres in its first season of Formula One – how much tyre development has there been in the intervening 11 years?
HH: We have learnt a lot from our participation in Formula One. The eleven seasons with grooved tyres were very good for our development. A grooved tyre is not a natural racing tyre so making it perform like one was a big challenge. The return to slicks meant we could apply the technology and lessons learnt to the ultimate racing tyre that is a slick.

Q: Next season there will be a smaller front tyre, tell us about this…
HH: For 2010 we will have a narrower front tyre. This will help to bring a better grip balance between the front and the rear grip of the cars. When we changed back to slick tyres the grooved tyre size was retained, meaning that the front gained proportionally more grip than the rear. This is addressed by making the front tyre narrower.

Q: Also next year, there will be no refuelling – how much of an impact does this have for Bridgestone?
HH: The cars will be around 100kg heavier at the start of a race so the tyre needs to be stronger. However, when you consider that the downforce acting on a car can be as much as 2000kg an extra 100kg is not so much of a change for us in terms of our tyre compounds and construction. For competitors the omission of refuelling will add another challenge and I expect we will see an evolution of race strategies through the season as everyone begins to understand what works best. Drivers will have to use their tyre management skills at the beginning of the race, especially at the start, when the cars are heaviest and the tyres at their coolest.

Q: There is the new destination of Korea on the provisional calendar for next year – are you looking forward to racing at another new location?
HH: We have welcomed many new circuits to Formula One over the past few seasons and it is always interesting to embrace new challenges. Korea will be a new circuit on the calendar and we are also due to return to Montreal which can provide its very own challenges. Nineteen races will mean that we are very busy through the year!

Have your say and share your views in the comments  – get writing now…

Reference: f1.com

The arrival of the 2010 season will bring with it a reverse of 2005, in that only tyres will be changed at pit-stops and refuelling will be banned. The effects of heavier cars at the start of races will have a direct effect towards tyres, though, as Bridgestone’s Hirohide Hamashima explains.
As of next year, all cars will qualifying on low fuel loads before being refuelled prior to the start of the race; as a consequence, fuel tanks – which currently house enough for barely half a race distance, as in a one-stop strategy – must be increased in size, thus making cars fractionally longer and requiring full aerodynamic modifications.
On top of this, tyres will also be revised. “The cars will be around 100 kilogrammes heavier at the start of a race, so the tyre needs to be stronger,” explains Hamashima, Bridgestone Motorsport’s Director of Tyre Development.

“However, when you consider that the downforce acting on a car can be as much as 2000 kilogrammes, an extra 100 is not so much of a change for us, in terms of our tyre compounds and construction.

“For competitors, the omission of refuelling will add another challenge and I expect we will see an evolution of race strategies through the season as everyone begins to understand what works best. Drivers will have to use their tyre management skills at the beginning of the race, especially at the start, when the cars are heaviest and the tyres are at their coolest.”

Reference: f1.gpupdate.net

Nunca vi gráfico que não explica o que é o eixo X, mas relevem. A Bridgestone cansou

Bom dia, fufeiros. Começamos o sábado com as primeiras curtinhas do fim de semana. Aproveitem bastante o feriadão caindo no domingo, rá!

1 – A Bridgestone esclareceu hoje como serão os novos pneus dianteiros da F-1 em 2010, que prometem reestabelecer o equilíbrio de aderência frente/trás vistos em 2008. Os novos compostos terão largura de 245mm contra 270mm dos pneus de 2009. Os traseiros, é bom lembrar, seguirão com 270mm, mas eu gostaria de vê-los com pelo menos 290mm. Fora o visual, que lembraria ainda mais os carros dos anos 80, isto privilegiaria mais a aderência mecânica, um dos sinônimos de “mais ultrapassagens”.

Mas por que a mudança? Quando a Bridgestone reintroduziu os pneus slick em 2009, um efeito colateral inesperado foi detectado: com a mesma largura que os traseiros, herança da era dos pneus sulcados, os pneus dianteiros slick subitamente começaram a produzir mais aderência (comparativamente) que os traseiros, gerando um desequilíbrio de grip nos carros. Foi em parte por isso que vários carros tiveram problemas de desgaste nos pneus traseiros no início da temporada – não podemos culpar apenas a guerra dos difusores.

Conforme vocês podem ver neste gráfico AQUI (quem entender me traduza, estou procurando o que é o eixo X até agora), o novo pneu dianteiro terá sua aderência ligeiramente reduzida, reestabelecendo o equilíbrio que tínhamos em 2008. Se isto será bom para equipes como a Ross Racing e a Red Bull, os carros que melhor se adaptaram aos pneus de 2009, remains to be seen. Alguma aposta?

2 – Jenson Button esteve na fábrica da McLaren ontem, onde foi brindado com um tour completo por Martin Whitmarsh, chefão do time de Woking. Onde há fumaça há fogo, diz o ditato. Será? O que vocês acham? Eu ainda prefiro ver o Matias lá, mas após esta notícia, não sei não. Butão e Luisinho juntos, formando um time 100% british. Faz sentido.

Um ótimo sábado a todos!

What were the key factors for Bridgestone in 2009? We re-introduced slick tyres and this was a significant change in philosophy in the Formula One regulations away from the grooved tyres of the previous eleven seasons. The aerodynamic regulation changes meant that teams had to work hard to develop and refine their cars though the season, and this was made harder with there being no testing. We worked very closely with all of the teams to help them to achieve their goals in this intense competition. This season we also responded to requests to make a bigger difference between the two different compounds that the regulations stipulate we bring to races. We achieved this with the concept of different temperature working ranges for our tyre allocations and this added another element of challenge for competitors at races.

Which were the most significant factors for the sport this season? I think that the changes in regulations combined with no testing provided the biggest challenge. Previously there would be test days all through the season and teams would be able to develop their cars and test parts with the luxury of time and mileage. This year’s change meant that we saw a variety of competitors at the front of the field, and some incredible developments to the cars over the season despite these limiting factors.

Bridgestone used slick tyres in its first season of Formula One – how much tyre development has there been in the intervening eleven years? We have learnt a lot from our participation in Formula One. The eleven seasons with grooved tyres were very good for our development. A grooved tyre is not a natural racing tyre so making it perform like one was a big challenge. The return to slicks meant we could apply the technology and lessons learnt to the ultimate racing tyre that is a slick.

Next season there will be a smaller front tyre, tell us about this. For 2010 we will have a narrower front tyre. This will help to bring a better grip balance between the front and the rear grip of the cars. When we changed back to slick tyres the grooved tyre size was retained, meaning that the front gained proportionally more grip than the rear. This is addressed by making the front tyre narrower.

Also next year, there will be no refuelling – how much of an impact does this have for Bridgestone? The cars will be around 100kg heavier at the start of a race so the tyre needs to be stronger. However, when you consider that the downforce acting on a car can be as much as 2000kg an extra 100kg is not so much of a change for us in terms of our tyre compounds and construction. For competitors the omission of refuelling will add another challenge and I expect we will see an evolution of race strategies through the season as everyone begins to understand what works best. Drivers will have to use their tyre management skills at the beginning of the race, especially at the start, when the cars are heaviest and the tyres at their coolest.

There is the new destination of Korea on the provisional calendar for next year – are you looking forward to racing at another new location? We have welcomed many new circuits to Formula One over the past few seasons and it is always interesting to embrace new challenges. Korea will be a new circuit on the calendar and we are also due to return to Montreal which can provide its very own challenges. Nineteen races will mean that we are very busy through the year!

Conducted and provided by Bridgestone’s press office.

Q. How would you evaluate the 2009 season from Bridgestone’s perspective?

Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport: The 2009 season took place in very difficult economic circumstances but within the sport of Formula 1 we saw fantastic competition. It was great to see so many race winners and such close racing from the cars on track, despite all of the changes. We continued to provide fair service to all of the teams who this year had new challenges with many rule changes.

The return to slick tyres was met with a positive response from the teams and the many millions of fans around the world so this was very good for us. The story of Brawn Grand Prix and Jenson Button winning the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championship titles was also remarkable and it was a great pleasure to be a part of it.

Q. What does Bridgestone gain from its Formula 1 involvement?

HY: Formula 1 is a highly visible marketing tool, not just for our brand but also for initiatives like the FIA’s Make Cars Green campaign, for which we carry the green bands on the tyres at all events.

As well as our brand name featuring on all of our tyres at races there is also circuit branding which gains significant exposure. Through working with many of the world’s top motor manufacturers we have learnt many good lessons and established very good working relationships with them. For our sales companies around the world our involvement in Formula 1 gives them unique and valuable access to many top sporting events.

Q. How important has Formula 1 been for Bridgestone?

HY: Formula 1 has been crucial to us building the Bridgestone brand around the world. In Japan, the name Bridgestone has been famous for most of our company’s history, however we needed something that would showcase our performance and technology around the world. Formula 1 achieves this perfectly as it is one of the world’s top sports and the only one where our products can be used as part of the sporting activity.

We have developed many good business relationships in Formula 1 and we have worked very closely with the teams, the FIA, FOM, the circuits and it has been a pleasure to work with them this season. We also thank our staff for their hard work this year.

Q. How will Bridgestone approach the 2010 season?

HY: Next season will be our fourteenth season in Formula 1. We will continue to deliver safe tyres to Formula 1 in a professional manner. Safety is always a priority for us and we will continue to promote environmental matters through the FIA’s Make Cars Green campaign.

It should be an interesting season as there will be no refuelling, which means that our tyres will change and we will also introduce a narrower front tyre too. There are 19 races scheduled with the return to Canada and a visit to Korea for the first time. We also look forward to welcoming new teams to this fabulous sport.

Reference: Autosport.com

It’s very intrusive what happened these days in this bussines. Because, honestly, Formula 1 it’s a great bussines, where millions of euros and dollars make the rules. Great names like Bridgestone, BMW, Honda and recently Toyota left this competition which called itself  “Queen of motorsport”. Ok, everybody has problems with money. But Formula 1 lost more than few constructors. Lost its reputation. Formula 1 is not anymore what it was. Formula 1 means progress, but I didn’t see the progress in all these cars. They cut the charges but they lost the progress. Formula 1 is not and never will be a cheap sport so teams like Manor or  Campos Meta will never be top teams. And it’s outrageous how they let go teams like Toyota or BMW and accept teams like Manor or Campos Meta. And I’m very curious what will happen with tires, because Bridgestone decided to leave this “circus”. I don’t know what will happen, but I know one thing: these are very dark times for Formula 1. Constructors after constructors leave this sport, this beautiful sport. And I’m curious if before one has finished, we will see: Ferrari quitting Formula 1. I think in that day Formula 1 will die. It will be very difficult for Jean Todt to restore the fame which Formula 1 has built. But hope dies last…

Outre les transferts de pilotes, la Formule 1 subie de grosse transformation pour ce « Mercato automobile ». En effet, le paddock doit faire face à de nombreux changements. Son plus grand ennemi : la crise économique qui touche les firmes concernées par le championnat. Une seule solution pour ces entreprises, le retrait pur et simple.

La Formule 1 vit des heures difficiles. Bridgestone, seul manufacturier et unique fournisseur de pneumatique pour les écuries de F1 comme le voulait la FIA il y a 2 ans, n’a pas souhaité renouveler le contrat de 3 ans signé avec celle-ci. Contrat qui se terminera à la fin de la saison prochaine. La firme japonaise a communiqué les causes de son choix : «La décision, prise par le Bureau des Directeurs de Bridgestone, vient après une analyse approfondie. Dans le contexte économique actuel, elle acte le besoin de l’entreprise de rediriger ses ressources vers un développement de technologies innovantes et de produits stratégiques ».

Après l’annonce de Bridgestone, on attendait une réaction des écuries. Mercredi 4 novembre, Toyota a, elle aussi, annoncé qu’elle ne serait plus sur les paddocks dès la saison 2010. C’est encore le contexte économique qui explique le choix de la firme nippone. Toyota, qui a fini 5ème au classement équipes en 2009, fournissait, de plus, les moteurs de BMW.

Ces annonces ont provoqué l’animation dans les paddocks et ont ouvert les yeux de certaines autres écuries. Renault, écurie française, parait tenter par un retrait en Formule 1. Une chose est sûre, on n’a pas fini d’entendre parler de la F1 cette année. La crise économique touche plus que jamais le sport.

Twee Japanse giganten gaven deze week te kennen zich uit de Formule 1 terug te trekken. Toyota doet dat met onmiddellijke ingang, Bridgestone op het einde van 2010. De beslissing van Toyota was verwacht, die van Bridgestone was een complete verrassing. De F1 heeft een jaar tijd om een nieuwe bandenleverancier te zoeken, maar het lijkt nu al duidelijk dat Goodyear, Michelin en Pirelli geen kandidaat zullen zijn.

Bij Toyota waren er al een tijd signalen dat het team aan zijn laatste seizoen in de F1 bezig was. Williams had zijn motorcontract met Toyota opgezegd, en Toyota-rijders Trulli en Glock wisten dat ze voor 2010 bij een andere werkgever moesten aankloppen. Toyota was acht seizoenen actief in de F1, maar kon ondanks fenomenale budgetten geen enkele grand prix zege op zijn naam schrijven.

Met de aftocht van Honda vorig jaar en de nieuwe exits van Toyota en Bridgestone wordt de Japanse betrokkenheid in de F1 zwaar teruggedrongen. De Japanse GP blijft wel overeind, en waarschijnlijk zal er volgend jaar ook nog een Japanse rijder op de grid staan. Kamui Kobayashi verbaasde in de twee laatste races van het seizoen als vervanger van Glock, en mag met een cheque van Toyota op zoek naar een zitje voor 2010.