How tyres became protagonists in Canada

Bridgestone's tyres played a crucial role in deciding the outcome of the Canadian Grand Prix and in providing some of the best racing of the season. Adam Cooper analyses how the event unfolded

The Canadian GP provided us with a timely reminder of how much interest and intrigue tyres can bring to grand prix racing. It would be tempting to imagine how exciting a Michelin vs Pirelli contest could be in 2011, but we know that a tyre war is unlikely to happen in F1 for the foreseeable future.

Nevertheless the imminent arrival of the Italian company as sole supplier will in itself stir things up. As one leading team figure said last weekend, Pirelli does not exactly conjure up a conservative, green image. It prides itself not just on its calendars, but on producing racy road tyres, so we can expect it to be willing to take a few risks with its F1 products next year, something that will inevitably happen anyway given its lack of knowledge.

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