NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 16, 2008) — Anticipating the return of slick tires to Formula One racing in 2009, Bridgestone/Firestone, the series' sole tire supplier, is evaluating ways to allow fans to distinguish between hard and soft tread compounds.
Today's softer tire is marked with white paint in one of its grooves, but that won't work on slicks, which have no tread.
The tire maker said it is considering colored sidewalls for its Bridgestone-brand Formula One tires, and could even end up dyeing the compound mix so that the whole tire is a different color.