By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief
Following an investigation, Pirelli have come to the conclusion that Sebastian Vettel’s tire failure at the Austrian Grand Prix was due to debris.
The four-time Formula 1 champion suffered a right-rear blowout along the main straightaway at roughly 200 mph while leading race before hitting the inside wall and coming to a stop in the middle of the track near the entrance of Turn 1.
Ferrari was running Vettel with the supersoft tire compound and had completed 27 laps when it failed, but the Italian tire manufacturer ruled out the issue being due to fatigue.
“Analysis of the tire issue that affected Sebastian Vettel at the recent Austrian Grand Prix has been concluded and the results shared with Ferrari,” Pirelli said in a statement.
“The few remaining parts of the tire in question, together with an in-depth comparison to other tires used in the race, reveal no signs of fatigue or structural failure in the right-rear tire itself.
“Consequently, the issue appears to be caused by an item of debris, which led to the breakage of the tire.”
Vettel acknowledged that he had no warning or indication of the failure.
