Following the departure of Goodyear at the end of the 1998 season, Bridgestone served as the exclusive tyre provider for Formula One for two years. This changed in 2001 when Michelin entered the series, reintroducing competition. Goodyear’s exit followed a period of 30 years in the sport . The arrival of Michelin prompted increased tyre development as teams aligned themselves with either supplier.
The rivalry saw teams choosing partners based on chassis compatibility and manufacturer support. Bridgestone maintained a high-profile partnership with Ferrari, while Michelin supplied a larger portion of the grid, including McLaren, Williams, and Renault.
During this period, regulations required tyres to feature four 14 mm grooves to limit cornering speeds. The competition between Bridgestone and Michelin pushed the boundaries of these regulations, leading to the development of specialized rubber compounds.
In 2005, the FIA introduced a regulation that disallowed tyre changes during a race. This forced both manufacturers to produce harder compounds capable of lasting the full race distance of approximately 300 kilometres. This rule change became a factor in the events at the 2005 United States Grand Prix.
The 2005 United States Grand Prix involved a significant incident. During Friday practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Ralf Schumacher suffered a crash at Turn 13 following a left-rear tyre failure on his Toyota. Turn 13, a high-speed banked corner, subjected the tyres to unique lateral loads.
Michelin determined that its tyres were unsafe for extended use on the banking. Despite flying in replacement tyres from France, the manufacturer found the new sets suffered from similar issues. Michelin representatives wrote to FIA Race Director Charlie Whiting outlining their concerns.
Whiting responded, suggesting that the teams be informed of the maximum safe speed in turn 13. He also addressed several solutions which had been proposed by the teams, stating that use of the tyres flown in overnight would result in penalties, and the placement of a chicane in the turn was "out of the question". Consequently, all seven Michelin-shod teams withdrew after the formation lap, leaving only the three Bridgestone teams to compete in a race won by Michael Schumacher.
The events of the 2005 United States Grand Prix led to the reintroduction of tyre changes for the 2006 season. Following the 2006 season, Michelin withdrew from Formula One. The period of the Bridgestone-Michelin tyre war spanned approximately 103 Grands Prix .
Bridgestone returned to its role as the sole tyre partner and supplier in 2007, introducing the "prime" and "option" naming convention to distinguish between the two compounds provided at each event. This remained the standard until Bridgestone’s withdrawal at the end of 2010, which paved the way for Pirelli to become the exclusive supplier starting in 2011.
Bridgestone’s partnership with Ferrari saw success in the early years of the competition, while Michelin secured championships with Renault in 2005 and 2006. The tyre regulations evolved significantly during this period, ultimately leading to a single-supplier model.
Corpus: Formula One tyres (Wikipedia article)