Vettel ‘can’t say 100%’ if he trusts Pirelli’s F1 tyres after Baku

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix was overshadowed by two high-speed blow-outs for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Vettel’s Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll.

An investigation from Pirelli concluded that 'running conditions' were behind the failures in what appeared to vaguely hint at the possibility that teams could have been playing with tyre pressures despite the mandatory parameters it sets each weekend.

Both Red Bull and Aston Martin denied they were doing anything wrong, while Lewis Hamilton said he believes Pirelli was not at fault for the failures in Baku as he disagreed with Verstappen. 

Asked if he has full confidence in the structural integrity of Pirelli’s tyres, Vettel replied: “I think the short answer would be I can’t say 100% yes and I can’t say 100% no.”

“The stress on the tyres no doubt is very, very high but it is a product that should be designed first of all to be as safe as possible," he added. 

“Over the last years we had plenty of occasions, I think there’s always been a proper follow-up and report, but from our side - and I can I think only speak for us drivers - the priority is clearly that the tyres are safe and safety has the highest priority.

“Everything else, every other interest, will always have to come second.”

The FIA has responded by introducing new protocols for this weekend’s French Grand Prix that will see more stringent checks on tyre pressure and temperature imposed.

The move has further raised suspicions that some teams could be using clever tricks to lower their tyre pressures in a bid to gain a performance advantage.

“We know we’re running our pressures at the legal prescribed pressures from Pirelli,” insisted Stroll.

“And there was nothing wrong with our car during the race, that we could see.

“Probably now we’re just going to bump up the pressures and they believe that’s going to be a better solution for the safety this weekend.

“There’s not much more to say on it.”

Race-winner Sergio Perez, added: “From what we’ve seen in Baku, all the teams have stuck to the regulations or what Pirelli has asked for us to do.

“And it’s a concern. We know that Baku’s a special place and so on but still it’s a concern what happened.

“We’ll see what they come up with. It’s all about our safety in those moments.”

New GPDA director and Williams driver George Russell believes that everybody involved in F1 has a duty to ensure that safety comes first.

"The safety is first and foremost in our sport and obviously the two blow-outs last weekend were pretty scary to see at the speeds we were doing,” he said.

“I think it’s the duty of all of us to try and put amends to these issues. There are a number of protocols in place this weekend to make sure none of the teams are trying to manipulate the regulations, so let’s see if that has short-term change.

“Mid-to-long term we never want to see that happen and we will have to work together to resolve any of these issues.”

Russell’s view was echoed by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who said: “First of all I think safety should always be the most important thing in Formula 1, for us drivers, for basically everyone.

“This is always the most important thing, but it’s also the duty of the team to respect everything that has been put in place. Whether this is the case or not, I don’t know, and this is the job of the FIA to discover that.

“I think it’s always good to have extra checks in case some teams try to play a game with it. But I believe it’s also definitely the responsibility of the team to make sure everything is safe for the drivers to drive the cars.”