Bridgestone designs and tests its racing tires using computer software and on track testing. The results of test are used to further refine the tire construction.
Bridgestone uses approximately 10 major different materials in its of F1 tires, including sulfur, carbon black, oils, synthetic rubber, steel and other materials.
"For the 2007 F1 season," a Bridgestone company statement says, "Bridgestone will produce wet and extreme wet weather tires as well as four new dry tire specifications – hard, medium, soft and super soft compounds."
Bridgestone F1 Tire Allocation
The company produces around 60,000 Formula 1 tires each year in Bridgestone’s factory in Kodaira, near Tokyo. Before it leaves the factory it is checked for faults and quality, and each tire is identified with a Bridgestone number and an FIA barcode. This is used to allocate the tires to teams and drivers.
