Tyre suppliers to Formula One, Bridgestone lulled rumors that had been gathering strength that they would not be leaving the pinnacle of motorsport in the lurch after their contract expires this season. They stated their intentions to go ahead with their exit plans and in a week when part criticism for the poor show in Bahrain has been laid at their doorstep, this stand is hardly surprising. 

The grievance logged against Bridgestone is that their tyres were just too good for the expected wear. Had they been less stable and degraded a lot more then we might have witnessed a more enthralling race. That is not the underlying point however. For F1 today stands at cross roads where a single supplier of rubber might not work for it anymore!

The last time when such heavy duty changes were made was in 2005. That year while refueling was allowed but conversely tyre changes during pit-stops were banned. One believes that low wear rates that we see today are that particular season’s legacy. The drivers had to manage their tyre wear throughout the race and on occasions when that didn’t happen we were in for some real exciting action. The one that comes to mind most readily is the Nurburgring race where Kimi Raikkonen flat spotted his McLaren’s right front tyre and within half a lap of the chequered flag crashed out gifting the race to Renault’s Fernando Alonso.

Point is that year Formula One had two tyre suppliers in Michelin and Bridgestone. And the different compounds on offer allowed for an intriguing mix for teams to dwell upon. Yes Michelin worked better that year for they were able to crack the secret of getting heat into the compounds during qualifying but on different tracks, Bridgestone did have its share of good race weekends.

And so, if Bridgestone says they will wait for the FIA tender to reconsider their options, it might not be a bad thing after all. If they find new terms and conditions good enough to stay on plus another manufacturer comes on board (preferably Michelin again), the ensuing tyre wars might just be the answer to Formula One’s problem of how to put up a decent show.