Friday 4 April at 17:22 : Bridgestone could consider using different coloured rubber to distinguish its slick tyre compounds next year, it has emerged.

Currently, F1's official tyre supplier paints a white line inside a groove to visually distinguish the 'option' compound from the 'prime', as required by the rules.

But with slick tyres expected to return to the grid next year, the painted-groove method will not be possible.

"We are working on this," spokeswoman Rachel Ingham told the Swiss publication Motorsport Aktuell.

"It is clear that, for the benefit of the fans and the professionals, the compounds next year will be distinguished," she promised.

One option is the Champ Car-style red coloured side walls, and Ingham also confirmed that colouring the entire tyre is also "technically feasible".