Lewis Hamilton and a shredded tyre. Photo: Eurosport
The world of Formula One is in an uproar after a shocking Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday. Four drivers suffered exploding tyres – among them Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton, Felipe Massa, Jean-Eric Vergne and Sergio Perez all suffered dramatic blow-outs during the race, forcing teams to urge their drivers to take things easy and avoid kerbs wherever possible.
Hamilton, whose rear left tyre exploded on lap nine while he was clear out in front of the field, was clearly shaken and outraged at having his life put in jeopardy by the tyres.
“The safety is the biggest issue,” said Hamilton. “It’s just unacceptable.
“We had that tyre test to develop and improve the tyres to stop that from happening and after that tyre test they didn’t do anything.
“Someone could’ve crashed. I was thinking behind the safety car that it’s only when someone gets hurt that something will be done about it.”
Manufacturers Pirelli have been in meetings with the FIA and teams, are being pressured to act before the F1 circus arrives in Germany later this week.
Red Bull have led calls for teams to revert to 2012 specification tyres, calling it a “sad state of affairs”, while Ferrari star Felipe Massa claims the sport was lucky that nobody was killed.
“I think we were lucky that in all the accidents the driver was able to carry on without crashing,” Massa said.
“But if that happens in a corner you can have a big accident and this is really not nice. What happened today was very dangerous for us, for me and for all drivers racing…
“Many people say it’s because of the kerbs or the debris, but it’s not the first time, so for me it’s unacceptable and we need to do something for our safety.” – Eurosport
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