Pirelli explains possible reason for Verstappen's Imola retirement

Pirelli now has an idea of why Max Verstappen's right rear tyre suddenly broke down during the recent race at Imola. The Italian manufacturer carried out research in Milan and suspects that the Red Bull Racing driver's failure was due to debris.

"We investigated the problem with that tyre, at least with all the parts of the tyre we could still collect," said Isola in the presence of Motorsport.com and others. 

Pirelli has completed their investigation

The investigation has now been completed and, on this basis, Isola and his team have been able to draw the following conclusion: "We believe that the final problem was caused by an initial damage to the centre of the tyre, as cuts were found in the tyre."

This means that the blowout probably occurred after Verstappen was driving through debris on the track. "This then also caused damage to the bead of our tyre and to the carcass. At one point the carcass could no longer cope with the pressure. That in turn led to the blowout we all saw in the end."