As expected, Pirelli has concluded their investigation into the cause of Kimi Räikkönen’s puncture at the end of the British Grand Prix. The investigation has finished nearly a week after the investigation of Sebastian Vettel’s tyre failure. The investigation into his failure was finished last Friday.
Pirelli located two damaged parts of the tyre’s belt, the material between the rubber and core body of the tyre. The damage was contained to those two areas only. According to Pirelli, the tyre belt separated from the core body, subsequently detaching a section of the tread in one area.
A statement from Pirelli reads:
“The possible initial cause of this damage is consistent with contact against an external body, leading to a partial separation of the belt from the carcass in the two affected areas. In one of these two places, as a logical consequence, part of the tread also became detached.”
Following the investigation, Pirelli confirmed that the failure was not as a result of a tyre defect and that the issue is isolated, not widespread.
