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concern
Sebastian Vettel is a sunny sort of guy for whom a joke and a smile is never very far away.
He does not get angry in public very often so when he does you can be sure there is a good
reason.
Very rarely has the four-time champion been as transparently furious as he was after the
Belgian Grand Prix.
In a tirade littered with expletives, he vented his feelings about the tyre failure at 200mph that
cost him a podium position at Spa. And although the loss of 15 valuable points was part of
the reason for his heightened emotions, it was very far from being the main one.
Racing drivers get very exercised about tyre failures, for the simple reason that they are so
dangerous. Over the Belgian Grand Prix weekend those dangers were plain for all to see.
In Friday practice, Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg suffered a failure of his right rear tyre at
190mph while approaching the flat-out Blanchimont left-hander, one of the most dangerous
parts of one of the most demanding tracks on the Formula 1 calendar. Rosberg was, he
admitted, "lucky" he somehow did not hit the wall.
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Part of this is they do not like the fact that the tyres are designed to wear out quickly, so they
have to manage them in races more than they would like. But their far more fundamental
unease dates back to the 2013 season, when a series of failures climaxed in a catastrophic
British Grand Prix, when six tyre failures in one race plunged F1 into crisis.
Pirelli had to make emergency changes to its tyres and since then the issue has been under
control. But the drivers' concerns have never really gone away.
The drivers' briefing is held 'in camera', but several of those in the meeting have spoken to
this writer about what went on.
Lewis Hamilton was one of the drivers who suffered a tyre failure during the 2013 British
Grand Prix
Vettel was one of several leading drivers who questioned Whiting on the issue. Also
prominent in the discussion were Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso - the three biggest
names in the sport.
Throughout the conversation the drivers' dissatisfaction and concern was plain.
Part of the reason for the drivers' scepticism about whether tyre safety is completely under
control is Pirelli's tendency to blame outside factors for failures.
After Silverstone 2013, the company initially blamed the teams, before making changes to
the tyres as well as imposing stricter limits on how the teams could operate them.
Generally, the tendency has been to point to cuts in the tyre for failures, whether they be from
a driver running over a sharp kerb, or some debris or other external factor, as was the case
after Rosberg's failure on Friday.
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Sebastian Vettel was furious following the Belgian Grand Prix when his tyre exploded on the
penultimate lap
This did not cut much ice with Vettel, who was seen having cross words with Hembery after
the race.
"Forty laps, you told us," Vettel said to him - a reference to the recommended maximum tyre
life Pirelli had indicated to Ferrari, the fact that the tyre failed after only 28, and the lack of
any kind of warning from Pirelli to Ferrari that there might be a problem.
But in the paddock there was scepticism about wear being the cause - because Vettel's lap
times were still strong and there had been no sign of the so-called 'cliff', when the tyres
suddenly lose grip.
Lotus trackside operations director Alan Permane said he was "surprised" to hear Pirelli had
blamed wear.
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What next?
Vettel was not the only driver to express his concerns about tyre safety after the race. Podium
finishers Nico Rosberg and Romain Grosjean did the same.
The drivers are clearly reacting emotionally, but then they have every right to; it's their lives
on the line, after all.
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