Goodyear have managed to get the upper hand in the tyre war against Bridgestone during the last few races. Bridgestone seem to have retaliated with the last Grand Prix, with Mika Hakkinen in the McLaren with Bridgestone tyres, as the winner of the last Grand Prix.

Through all this Goodyear are still looking ahead, even though they are leaving Formula One at the end of this season.

Goodyear operations manager Perry Bell stated: "Even though Goodyear equipped cars took six of the top ten places today we are still looking for additional performance improvements for the Suzuka race. We have made significant progress this year and the extended gap before the Japanese Grand Prix will enable us to provide the most competitive tyre package for the final Grand Prix."

It will be a home Grand Prix for Bridgestone at the Suzuka circuit.