Pirelli gets more robust in its self defence, after Vettel attack

The rumbling continues after Sebastian Vettel's tyre failure and subsequent attack on Pirelli in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.

The rumbling continues after Sebastian Vettel's tyre failure and subsequent attack on Pirelli in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix. The Italian company has issued a statement saying that it asked for a limit to be placed on the use of its tyres in 2013, but it was not adopted by the sport.

It says that it would have liked to insist on no more than 50% of the race could be done on a set of the prime (harder of the two chosen compound) tyres at any race. This would have meant 22 laps at Spa. Vettel was attempting to do 30 laps, over 210km on a set of medium tyres.

Pirelli's statement said: "In November 2013, Pirelli requested that there should be rules to govern the maximum number of laps that can be driven on the same set of tyres, among other parameters to do with correct tyre usage. This request was not accepted. The proposal put forward a maximum distance equivalent to 50% of the grand prix distance for the prime tyre and 30% for the option.

"These conditions, if applied today at Spa, would have limited the maximum number of laps on the medium compound to 22."

A quick scan of the races this season shows that this was a long stint Vettel was attempting. Looking back through the season for comparables at circuits with high corner loadings; at Silverstone last month, another track with very high corner loadings, the same Medium compound tyres went for 36 laps or 212km on the Manor car, but this much slower car would not have stressed the tyres like a Ferrari.

Felipe Massa did 32 laps in Bahrain on a set of mediums, which is 172km. THe longest stint at Barcelona on mediums was Rosberg at 138km.

So the wear life was on the limit, but that still doesn't usually mean a tyre should fail like Vettel's did. He was extremely fortunate it didn't happen a few seconds earlier otherwise it would have been a catastrophic accident in Eau Rouge.

Vettel has called for the drivers to stand up and speak ahead of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, as he spoke out at the Drivers' briefing in Spa after Nico Rosberg had a tyre failure as a result of a cut, according to Pirelli.