A structural failure of Sebastian Vettel’s right-rear tyre has been ruled out by Pirelli. The cause of the World Champion’s first-lap spin in Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix therefore remains a mystery, despite a full two-day investigation into the problem.
Vettel’s Red Bull spun out of the lead on the opening lap of the race, with the flailing tyre then damaging the car as the German recovered to the pits.
‘Following an extensive investigation of the circumstances that led to Sebastian Vettel’s right-rear tyre suddenly deflating on the opening lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, a structural failure of the tyre has been ruled out as the cause by Pirelli’s engineers,’ Pirelli’s statement reads. ‘The tyre in question was a part of a set of PZero Yellow Softs that the Red Bull Racing driver had used to qualify on pole the day before.’
Pirelli has explained that not much of the tyre was left after the incident, but enough for a full examination to be carried out across Sunday evening, Monday and Tuesday.
‘Having subjected the tyre to minute analysis, structural failure of the tyre or valve has been ruled out as a cause of the incident,’ the statement continues. ‘Track debris or other outside circumstances cannot be excluded as a possible cause.’
“We can confirm that a structural failure was not the cause of Sebastian Vettel’s deflation in Abu Dhabi, a conclusion that we have arrived at together with Red Bull Racing following a detailed examination and analysis of the remains of the tyre,” says Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s Motorsport Director.
“We cannot rule out debris on the track causing damage to the tyre, which then provoked a deflation, but having looked at the track closely there is no direct evidence of this.”
Red Bull has issued no official reaction to the incident, so it remains unknown as to whether the team is aware of what caused the problem. As the Young Driver test continues, views in the paddock vary about possible reasons - including the car’s floor rubbing against the tyre or hot exhaust gases triggering a deflation.
Series
Formula 1
Personalities
Sebastian Vettel
Teams
Red Bull
Other
Get your official Formula 1 tickets at Sportstadium.com
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  L. Hamilton | McLaren | 1:37:11.886 |
| 2. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | +8.457 |
| 3. | J. Button | McLaren | +25.881 |
| 4. | M. Webber | Red Bull | +35.784 |
| 5. | F. Massa | Ferrari | +50.578 |
| 6. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | +52.317 |
| 7. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | +1:15.964 |
| 8. | A. Sutil | Force India | +1:17.122 |
| 9. | P. di Resta | Force India | +1:41.087 |
| 10. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | +1 Lap |
| Full results | |||
| Sebastian Vettel | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| More Sebastian Vettel photos | |||
English
Nederlands
Español
Italiano
