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'Very serious topic if driver and track worker safety is being put at risk'

'Very serious topic if driver and track worker safety is being put at risk'

22-06-2021 15:13 Last update: 15:39

GPblog.com

Red Bull Racing celebrated two podium finishes with Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez last weekend, shaking off the disappointment of Azerbaijan. The Dutchman suffered a blowout in Baku, which led to a major investigation.

Pirelli promised after the race in Azerbaijan to investigate the reason why Verstappen, as well as Aston Martin-driver Lance Stroll, suffered a blowout. According to the Italian tire supplier, there was nothing wrong with the tires, but the problem lay with the teams themselves. This made Red Bull and Aston Martin furious because they felt they had done nothing wrong.

Pirelli investigation

Martin Brundle goes on about the incident in his column on Sky Sports on the incident. "Without ever quite saying so, the inference was that Red Bull and Aston Martin had been running their tyre pressures below the recommended minima while out on track and so contributed to the tyre failures, which those teams strongly denied. It's a very serious topic if driver and track worker safety is being put at risk for performance."

"Pirelli want the security of higher inflation pressures which add strength and support to their tyres," Brundle continued. "After all any tyre manufacturer who is the sole supplier to a championship simply doesn't need the extremely bad publicity of tyre failures. They are guaranteed to win anyway."