Turkish GP: Bridgestone race notes

Bridgestone looks ahead to Monza

This afternoon's 58-lap inaugural Turkish Grand Prix gave the enthusiastic crowds an incident filled race to enjoy but a lack of points for the Bridgestone teams leaves them with a tough end of season ahead.

Michael Schumacher, who started from 19th on the grid, had climbed up through the runners to the mid field but an incident with Mark Webber left him with a damaged car. With no chance of points, the Ferrari team concentrated on getting him back on track to improve his position for the start of qualifying in Italy in two weeks time.

Teammate Rubens Barrichello also failed to take any points after finishing tenth and he drops a place in the drivers' standings as a result. Schumacher and Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, however, retain their respective third place positions in the standings. The Formula One paddock now moves on to Monza, a home race for two of Bridgestone's three teams.

Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport:

"A disappointing weekend for the Bridgestone teams considering we had a good race in Hungary three weeks ago. Michael had steadily worked his way up through the field but his racing incident ruined his chances so he simply tried to make the best of going out again. Rubens had a consistent race but was caught mid field and it was good see Robert Doornbos have a good run."

"From a tyre performance point of view, we have plenty of data on this new circuit for the future. It was good to see we had no specific tyre problems but we shall be looking to improve our level of grip on these types of circuits."

Ross Brawn, Technical Director, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro:

"A very disappointing race today. Michael's accident looked a bit unnecessary given that Webber was a lap down. We repaired his car so he could get back on track in order to get the best possible qualifying position for Monza. Rubens had an uneventful race. His car was okay, with the exception of a bit of oversteer. He just lacked pace."

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