Motorsport
Toyota to run on Bridgestone tyres
By DPA
Nov 11, 2005, 14:03 GMT

Hamburg - Formula One team Toyota will race on Bridgestone tyres next season after signing a three-year contract with the Japanese company, the team announced on Friday.

Toyota becomes the third team after Ferrari and Williams to confirm that they will be racing with Bridgestone tyres and the news will be welcomed by Ferrari, who complained during this season that they were at a disadvantage because they were the only leading team racing with Bridgestone.

Bridgestone official Hisao Suganuma said that he was confident the signing of new teams would help them develop competitive tyres. 'Together with Ferrari we will be able to hold more tests.'

Toyota team principal Tsutomu Tomita said he was happy to have signed with the company. It is a pleasure to announce that Toyota Motorsport and Bridgestone Motorsport have joined forces.

'I am sure that our two companies will share a fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship over the coming years in Formula 1. After a rather successful 2005 season, our sights are now set even higher up the grid and we feel that Bridgestone is ideally suited to the technical demands of F1 in the future and will be the best match for our 2006 car.

'Toyota is serious about winning in Formula 1 and we feel that the switch to Bridgestone tyres is the best option in the medium-long term,' he said.

Bridgestone's competitors, Michelin, have confirmed that Renault, McLaren-Mercedes, BAR-Honda, BMW (formerly Sauber) and Red Bull would be using their tyres.

Midland (formerly Jordan) and Toro Rosso (formerly Minardi) have not yet said which tyres they will be using, but it is believed they will also race with Bridgestone.