Bridgestone has announced it will withdraw from Formula One at the end of next season, after opting not to renew the company's official tyre supply deal with the sport. The Japanese manufacturer has been the sole supplier of tyres to Formula One since 2007, and in 2008 signed a three-year deal to become F1's official tyre supplier.

Officially, Bridgestone are saying that the decision not to renew was as a result of the company redirect resources towards “intensive development of innovative technologies and strategic products”, but the effect of the worldwide recession that has hit since 2008 cannot be entirely dismissed either.

“It is with deep regret that Bridgestone Motorsport confirms that at 10.00am (Japan standard time) today, the Bridgestone Corporation announced its decision to not enter into a new tyre supply contract with the FIA Formula One World Championship series. The current contract is set to expire at the end of the 2010 season,” Hiroshi Yasukawa, director of Bridgestone Motorsport said in a statement.

“The decision made by the Board of Directors of Bridgestone comes after considerable and lengthy evaluations and has been based on the company's need to redirect its resources towards the further intensive development of innovative technologies and strategic products.”

Although Yasukawa respected the decision of Bridgestone's directors in pulling out of Formula One, he was hugely disappointed at the news. “While we understand and respect the reasons for this decision, it has nevertheless come as a great disappointment,” continued Yasukawa. “Bridgestone's relationship with the FIA Formula One World Championship stretches beyond being a tyre supplier.

“Formula One has been of strategic importance to Bridgestone in developing its technologies, raising the company's brand awareness and providing its strategic business units around the globe with promotional and marketing tools that are intrinsically linked to our company's core products.”

The FIA will now have to reopen the tender process to select a new tyre supplier from 2011.