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Tire Management to Make Sauber Stronger in 2010

The latest discoveries showed by Japanese tire manufacturer Bridgestone suggests that there may be more to Sauber's C29 challenger than meets the eye. Although they don't benefit from tons of aerodynamic developments as compared to the leading pack of teams – Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes – the thing that seems to make the car a competitive one is its ability to preserve the condition of its tires.

According to Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone's director of motorsport tire development, the C29 reacts the best when it comes to tire wear, according to the data provided by all the F1 teams following the 4 test meetings in February.

We have compared many teams' data and looking at the quick (four) teams – their degradation tendency is very, very similar. Once they have the 150kg start weight, with both the medium and soft compound, then there is little difference – so we could expect a very close pace. However, Sauber is more consistent,” said Hamashima, according to British publication Autosport.

If one's wondering what is the big difference – in terms of tire wear – as compared to last year, know that this piece of information will allow the Swiss outfit to perform better than its rivals in both qualifying and race. Increased tire protection will enable them to use softer compounds during qualifying – therefore score a better lap time and not have to worry on staying of softer rubber for the first stint of the race – while also perform on longer stints during the race.

As compared to the previous years, tire wear is more of an issue because of the refueling ban introduced by the FIA for the 2010 season of Formula One. With the cars now weighing considerably more at the start, the forces applied on the tires during braking and acceleration will have a more severe effect on the rubber.

That being said, quicker lap times during the race might not be Sauber's thing in 2010, but longer stints leading to better pit stop strategies might compensate it all too well. We can't wait for Bahrain to find that out!
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