Nearly two weeks after the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix, Pirelli has released the results of the investigation about the tyre failure on Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari in the closing laps.
If you recall, Vettel blew his tyre in the final laps of the race at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. His right-rear tyre exploded on the straight away, dropping him out of the points. It has been a debate about the cause of the tyre failure. Many believe that it was because of Ferrari’s decision to run the tyre for 27 laps, while others believe that the Pirelli tyres were poorly designed for Belgium because of some other failures earlier in the weekend.
Pirelli has found the clear explanation. The official conclusion from the tyre manufacturer was that there were no issues with the tyre’s design, saying: “The tests carried out by Pirelli on the tyres used at Spa have confirmed the absence of any structural problems.” Instead, Pirelli placed the blame on Ferrari, saying that the failure was caused, in part, by “prolonged use of the tyres on one of the most severe tracks of the championship” and some other “external factors”.
“The external factors are demonstrated by a total of 63 cuts found in the tread of the Formula One tyres used over the course of the Spa weekend, following numerous incidents that took place during the support races before the Formula One grand prix. In the previous 15 events (10 races and five test sessions) an average of only 1.2 cuts per event were noted,” Pirelli stated in the official report. “All this indicates an 
anomalous amount of detritus on the track in Spa, with a consequent increased risk of encountering a foreign object.”
According to Pirelli, a number of cuts on the tyres were reported. “At the end of qualifying on Saturday at Spa, following the exceptional number of cuts noted to the tyres, Pirelli pointed out the condition of the circuit to the FIA and asked for it to be cleaned, as well as for the teams to be told. The FIA reacted promptly in arranging for the track to be cleaned and advising the teams.” This did not help to prevent Vettel’s tyre failure.
The investigation into the cause of the incident may be over, but Pirelli is not going to stop there. They are looking at possible solutions to stop this in the future. “Together with the FIA, Pirelli proposes a study to evaluate the way in which circuits can be cleaned most effectively.”
