However, I don’t feel Raikkonen and Alonso have ever fully adapted their driving to the Bridgestone control tyre and driven with the form they showed whilst driving on Michelins.
That is why Alonso struggled to cope with Hamilton last season and why Raikkonen and Massa have always been so closely matched since they have been together, which not many ever expected.
However I think the new slick tyres will really suit Alonso, Raikkonen, and Kubica.
The slicks will allow them to use their aggressive styles of driving and really take some risk.
You just can’t do that with these current Bridgestones.
I think we will really see the best out of all three of them.
Alonso and Raikkonen in particular could be changed drivers in 2009. Back to their former selves perhaps.
Kubica will get even stronger too.
Lewis Hamilton pushes extremely hard all the time and he will love the extra grip that the slicks will give him and they will allow him to take even more risks. It was very visible to see how much he thrived just with traction control being banned
On the other hand drivers with a smoother style may struggle to adapt more.
Nick Heidfeld, for example, isn’t an aggressive driver and will need to change his style.
With the current Bridgestones, you have to drive aggressively to warm the tyres up and Nick hasn’t been able to do this effectively all season.
It’s not that drivers like Heidfeld will do a poor job. It’s simply that drivers like Alonso and Raikkonen will be able to make more use of the slick tyres and that extra grip and confidence that they will give them.
Over to overtaking.
There will be a higher frequency of overtaking moves next season. Therefore, for the drivers, this will become a much more important skill than it is currently.
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