Bridgestone has said that 2010 will be its last season of F1 racing. No more tires, no more dollars.

And while most of the motorsport world’s F1 attention has been focused on whether Renault will remain in (yes it will) and if Michael Schumacher will suit up again (apparently he will), no one is addressing the 800-pound gorilla in the room: How can you run a race series without tires?

Apparently ignoring the problem means it just doesn’t exist. But given the amount of time any tiremaker would need to develop proper rubber for high-torque F1 racers, someone needs to start soon. Like now.

So where do we stand with the world’s tiremakers? It depends on whether you believe their public statements or not. Here is what they have said, and here is what Conventional Wisdom thinks:

Bridgestone: Says it’s out after 2010 season. CW: The Bridgestone brand is out. Firestone? Already on Indy cars, so the development curve isn’t that bad.

Michelin: Says it will not return. CW: Still PO’d at FIA for how it was treated during its last two years in the series, so it’s not at all likely for the Michelin brand. BFGoodrich though…

Goodyear: Says it won’t return. CW: Has its hands full with NASCAR, but it said nothing about the Dunlop brand, which has a historic F1 connection.

Yokohama: Has made no public statement. CW: Likely no.

Toyo: Has made no public statement. CW: Has other issues on its plate, so it’s not likely.

Pirelli: Says it won’t entertain the idea. CW: The idea is entertaining and intriguing, and still possible.

Continental: Silent. CW: Silence may be golden.

Hankook: No public statement either way. CW: Possible, maybe.

Kumho: No recent statement, but recall a few years ago it worked on F1-level race tires. CW: Too many other issues right now.

Is there a darkhorse candidate out there? If so, they would have to have been very, very quiet. We’ll just have to see how this all plays out. But for now, FIA is trying to figure out the best place for the deck chairs!