Vettel and Raikkonen tyre failures unrelated, says Pirelli

©Ferrari

Following its preliminary analysis, F1 tyre supplier Pirelli says that the failures which hit Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen were linked to different issues.

Drama hit the Ferrari camp in the closing stages of the British GP when Raikkonen was forced to pit with a tyre puncture only for Vettel to also fall victim to a left-front tyre failure a lap later.

While Raikkonen salvaged a podium finish, Vettel was relegated from fourth to seventh in the final results.

According to Pirelli's initial investigation, the Finn's rubber fell apart but without the tyre actually losing air, while Vettel's tyre delaminating was definitely the result of a puncture.

"The British Grand Prix contained a sting in the tail for the two Ferrari drivers, with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen both unfortunately experiencing a tyre issue close to the hard-fough finish," said Pirelli's Mario Isola.

"That’s a real pity and we’ll obviously now look into exactly why this happened together with the team. The race was run at an incredible pace this year, with the fastest lap being nearly five seconds faster than the 2016 equivalent."

Vettel taken by surprise by tyre failure

Pirelli isn't excluding that the German driver's troubles may have been linked to a lock-up earlier in the race when Vettel was battling Valtteri Bottas.

After witnessing Raikkonen's failure, Red Bull Racing chose to pit Max Verstappen for a last-minute tyre change as a precautionary measure.

Lewis Hamilton was aware of his rivals' issues and kept his team informed of his tyres progress.

"We had a tiny little blister developing and he warned us, but then we didn't know whether it was maybe [caused by] some debris on track," Wolff told Sky Sports.

"It was odd that three different cars developed fatal blistering at the end. You're just extracting every bit of performance and it could go wrong."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.