As best I can recall, tires were not a cutting edge item in the fifties. The road Michelin X was known for wear but had stiff steel belts and good adhesion with not much feedback and no-warning break away. Tires didn’t mature into no grooves and low aspect ratios until the 60’s –Mickey Thompson’s 1963 Indy entry was an early example.
More broadly, the early fifties were still further refinement of the prewar designs. IMO the pioneer was Cooper with lotus taking the concept to maturity. Coventry Climax was also a leader prior to Cosworth.
This may be off base, but I view Great Britain’s –mostly English- rise in F-1 design during the 50's as resulting from the aircraft expertise turned loose after the war which migrated to the motorsport effort. Of course there was Chapman too.
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