Bridgestone Want New Friends

F1Racing.net reports that Bridgestone is on a lookout for a new team to use its products. Hah. I'm sure they have no regrets in pouring their attentions almost exclusively to Ferrari's needs but now its beginning to bite them.

Well, if you read this Blog often, you'd know I'm not a huge fan of the Japanese concern. I think their treatment of McLaren, a team that gave them their first world championship was despicable. Its also unsurprising that BAR and now Sauber chose to ditch them as well. Take the 2003 specification tyre. Ross Brawn, post 2003 Hungarian GP, explained that Bridgestone constructed its narrow tyres to conform to "the spirit of the rules." That's bollocks. Bridgestone made those tyres to complement Ferrari's aerodynamics.

Teams like BAR quite naturally had quite enough of this. Even Ferrari's closest allies, Sauber, decided that enough is enough, they were better off with a tyre manufacturer who gave equal attention to all its teams.

So now they are finding it hard. And last weekend they found it even harder, when Minardi's inclusion in the race was under threat. At the insistence of their main client at that.

Bridgestone deserves all the hardship they get. It would be pretty hard to trust them now. There were rumours about Toyota or maybe even BAR Honda switching back to Bridgestone in the past but I'm sure they would need assurances that no preferential treatment is given Maranello.