16
November
2011
|
12:03
Europe/Amsterdam

2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Tyre failure ruled out as cause of Vettel deflation 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. The tyre in question was a part of a set of P Zero Yellow softs that the Red Bull Racing driver had used to qualify on pole the day before. Following the incident at the first corner, Vettel completed a lap in order to return to the pits, during which the flapping rubber caused damage to the bodywork and running gear, forcing the world champion into his first retirement of the year. Although not much remained of the tyre afterwards, there was enough for Pirelli’s engineers to carry out a full investigation, in collaboration with Red Bull Racing. Having subjected the tyre to minute analysis, structural failure of the tyre or valve has been ruled out as a cause of the incident. Track debris or other outside circumstances cannot be excluded as a possible cause. Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery said: “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. 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.” *** Follow us on Twitter @ Pirelli_Media or Facebook on www.facebook.com/Pirelli Please also visit the Pirelli F1 blog at www.pirellif1blog.com. For further information please contact: Alexandra Schieren +33 607 03 69 03 alexandra.schieren@pirelli.com Anthony Peacock +44 7765 896 930 anthony@mediatica.co.uk ** Francescopaolo Tarallo +39 334 684 4307 francescopaolo.tarallo@pirelli.com (Head of Product and Motorsport Media Relations) PDF Version (132 KB)