Bridgestone

Bridgestone began developing race tires in the 1980s, initially for feeder series including Formula 2, Formula 3, Formula Ford, Formula Opel Lotus, and karting. A one-off appearance in Formula One occurred at the 1976 and 1977 Japanese Grand Prix, where Bridgestone produced tires for Japanese entrants including Kazuyoshi Hoshino's Heros Racing and Kojima.

The decision to enter Formula One as a full supplier was taken in 1995, backed by CEO Yoichiro Kaizaki, with the explicit aim of improving Bridgestone's name value in the European market against rival Michelin. Although an entry in 1998 was originally planned, the engineering section led by Hirohide Hamashima advanced development quickly enough to bring the entry forward to 1997. Hiroshi Yasukawa, general manager of the Motorsport Department, drew on experience and networks built during Bridgestone's European Formula 2 era of 1981–1984 to construct the logistics at short notice.

In only the second year of competition, 1998, Mika Häkkinen and McLaren–Mercedes delivered Bridgestone its first Drivers' and Constructors' Championship titles. During the years of competition against Goodyear (1997–1998) and then Michelin (2001–2006), Bridgestone-shod drivers and constructors claimed five Drivers' Championship titles and five Constructors' Championship titles across 1998 and 2001–2004. The partnership with Scuderia Ferrari and Michael Schumacher was especially productive in this period.

When Michelin withdrew from Formula One at the end of the 2006 season, all teams switched to Bridgestone from 2007 onward. Bridgestone had already been contracted as the sole supplier from 2008 to 2010. On 2 November 2009, Bridgestone announced it would not renew its Formula One contract beyond 2010, citing the impact of the continuing evolution of the business environment. Pirelli was announced as successor sole supplier in June 2010.

To raise brand awareness for its Firestone subsidiary, Bridgestone Firestone NAH Ltd re-entered the Firestone brand into CART open-wheel racing in 1995, challenging Goodyear. The Firestone tires proved superior and Goodyear left the series for 2000. Firestone has since been the single tire provider for the successor Champ Car World Series, the IndyCar Series, and its feeder series Indy NXT. The Advanced Tire Production Center opened in Akron in June 2022 manufactures all Firestone Firehawk racing tires for the NTT IndyCar Series.

In the 1980s and 1990s Bridgestone provided tires to Le Mans sport prototypes for Nismo and TOM's, backed by Nissan and Toyota respectively. In the early 1990s the brand expanded to Mercedes-AMG, which entered the DTM and later Le Mans and the FIA GT Championship. Bridgestone left international sports car racing in 2000 but remained one of the main suppliers in the Super GT series. From April 2023 Bridgestone became the main tire supplier for the Super Taikyu championship, replacing Hankook.

Bridgestone entered the Grand Prix motorcycle racing premier class MotoGP in 2002. From 2009 to 2015 it served as exclusive tire supplier to the championship, reaching 100 MotoGP victories in 2012. Nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi served as Bridgestone Tyre Adviser, having won two MotoGP titles on Bridgestone tires in 2008 and 2009. In May 2014 Bridgestone announced its departure from MotoGP at the end of the 2015 season.

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