15/07/2016
NEWS STORY
Pirelli Motorsport boss Paul Hembery is in favour of the FIA's crack down on drivers who exceed track limits, but at the same time further muddies the waters as to why Sebastian Vettel suffered his tyre failure in Austria.
In the moments following the German's crash at the Red Bull Ring, Pirelli tweeted that the culprit was most likely debris.
The Italian manufacturer subsequently backed down on the claim before launching an investigation in partnership with Ferrari.
Amidst claims, denied by Ferrari and Vettel, that perhaps the German's stint was too long, Pirelli, despite little of the tyre remaining, thereby hampering its investigation, concluded that debris was indeed the most likely cause.
Vettel remained unconvinced, and speaking at Silverstone said: "To make an analysis was not easy because there was not much left of the tyre. But what we've got from Pirelli as explanation was that debris caused the damage.
"In such a case, what can you do?" he continued. "It was a pity because at that point in the race it looked pretty promising for us."
Asked if Ferrari's strategy was partly to blame, he said: "I don't believe so, and in hindsight, if it really was debris that caused the tyre to go bust, it could have also happened in the second lap and not necessarily after 25. So I don't see that our strategy had anything to do with what happened."
Curiously, on the eve of the British Grand Prix, Pirelli recommended limits on the number of laps each compound could be run for, suggesting that it too had doubts that debris was the out-and-out culprit.
Speaking to the official F1 website, Hembery has caused further confusion by claiming that the crackdown on track limits, which led to controversial new kerbs in Austria, could have played a part in Vettel's failure.
"There were four cars' suspension that broke 'out of the blue' and they were also due to very high loadings on the suspension," said the Briton. "Of course, the tyre is part of the suspension, so it is very likely that whatever is loading the suspension was loading the tyre as well.
"The difference to other places in Austria was also the kerbing that was put in place to discourage drivers from exceeding track limits," he continued, "and there has been quite some discussion over them recently.
"We have seen in Silverstone that one of Lewis Hamilton's lap times was cancelled because of exceeding track limits and I think it is a very wise thing from the FIA to start enforcing it, as it was not followed in the way it should have been.
Referring directly to Vettel's issue in Austria, he said: "Well, it was a longer stint that Sebastian was doing compared to the majority of other teams, but that really wasn't the issue. It was more related to external factors. That is something that we have understood, Ferrari has understood and that we have explained to the FIA.
"I think we all will have a better understanding moving forward," he continued. "If the FIA sticks to the plan of enforcing track limits and we see more and more of such kerbing, then we will develop a test to simulate that to see how aggressive you can be in that scenario.
"If we make it such that the tyre resists every single lap going over the yellow kerbs we will end up building bigger ones. I was joking with Bernie that he should build little walls inside the corners. We manage in Monaco to avoid them and he was very keen, as I said that he could probably sell advertising on them!"