Pirelli blames teams for ignoring their request

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (Reuters) - Sebastian Vettel's explosive Belgian Grand Prix blowout would not have happened if tyre manufacturer Pirelli had been listened to two years ago, the Italian company said in a statement on Sunday.

Pirelli blames teams for ignoring their request

(Reuters)





Pirelli said they had asked in 2013, after a spate of blowouts at the British Grand Prix forced a change in construction, for a maximum to be set for the number of laps that could be run with the same tyres.

"In November 2013, Pirelli requested that there should be rules to govern the maximum number of laps that can be driven on the same set of tyres, among other parameters to do with correct tyre usage," it said.

"This request was not accepted. The proposal put forward a maximum distance equivalent to 50 percent of the grand prix distance for the prime tyre and 30 percent for the option.

"These conditions, if applied today at Spa, would have limited the maximum number of laps on the medium compound to 22," it added.

Ferrari's Vettel, who was running in third place, had done 27 laps on the medium tyre and was on a one-stop strategy when his car's right rear blew on the penultimate lap of the race.

"Things like that are not allowed to happen. Full stop. If it happened 200 metres earlier, I am not standing here now," the four times Formula One world champion said afterwards as others also raised questions about the safety of the tyres.





(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Greg Stutchbury)


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world