Pirelli has confirmed the reasons behind Sebastian Vettel's tyre failure during the final laps of the British Grand Prix, which cost the German a podium finish.
Vettel had been in third place on the penultimate lap of the race before his front-left tyre failed, sending him wide through the right-hander at Luffield.
As the failure happened during the opening half of the lap, Vettel lost significant time as he crawled back to the pit lane for repairs, dropping to seventh come the chequered flag, his title advantage over Lewis Hamilton cut to just one point.
Pirelli, following an investigation into the cause of the problem, has revealed that a slow puncture was ultimately behind the failure.
"As appeared clear since Sunday afternoon, a full investigation has now confirmed that the original cause of the failure was a slow puncture," said Pirelli in a statement. "The consequent driving back to the pits on an underinflated and then flat tyre led to the final failure."
The cause of the slow puncture however isn't known, although there was debris on the circuit following a first lap crash between Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz. Vettel also heavily flat-spotted his front-left during the race (pictured).
Vettel's Ferrari team-mate Kimi Räikkönen also suffered a tyre failure on the lap before the German, and Pirelli confirmed in the immediate aftermath that the two drivers had encountered different problems.
Alongside the publication of its findings into Vettel's failure, Pirelli revealed that an investigation into the cause of the Finn's issue is still ongoing.
"Kimi Räikkönen’s damaged tyre shows less evidence of what occurred, so further tests and analysis are still ongoing in Pirelli’s laboratories and indoor testing facilities.
"It will take a few more days to reach a definitive conclusion."
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