It comes after Pirelli and Vettel’s Ferrari team held talks after their bitter fallout in Spa Francorchamps. Maurizio Arrivabene, Ferrari’s team principal, insisted they had not been told by Pirelli that their one-stop strategy was unsafe while Hembery said it was a “risk” no other team chose to take.
Nico Rosberg has leant his support to Vettel
In the wake of that incident Vettel was supported by his fellow drivers, including Nico Rosberg, who suffered his own tyre blowout in practice at Spa, while the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) demanded an end to the spectacular explosions. Vettel also reiterated his criticism in a post on his personal website.
It is a sensitive time for Pirelli, with their contract to supply tyres up for renewal. Bernie Ecclestone, F1’s chief executive, is a staunch supporter of the Italian company but is likely to face further disquiet from the drivers if Pirelli continue. Relations between the sport’s protagonists and Pirelli are poor, with Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso all raising concerns about safety at the last drivers’ briefing in Spa.
The row comes two years after Pirelli’s lowest ebb in Formula One, when there were six blowouts in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.