Vettel leads into the first corner in Abu Dhabi, but seconds later his right-rear tyre suddenly deflated and his race was over - Photo Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images
Investigations by Pirelli have ruled out tyre failure as a cause for the puncture that ended Sebastian Vettel‘s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.
Following an ‘extensive investigation’ on what was left of it, Pirelli engineers have concluded there was no structure failure of Vettel’s right-rear tyre.
It has not been possible to exclude track debris or other outside influences as a 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,” said Paul Hembery, Pirelli 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.”
