Tyres failures caused by ‘extremely long use’  

FORMULA 1 tyre supplier Pirelli says the failures suffered by three cars near the end of the British Grand Prix were caused by “extremely long use” on a demanding circuit.Both Mercedes and the McLaren of CarlosSainz suffered left-front failures in the final three laps of Sunday’srace.

Pirelli said tyres had been stressed byteams running long stints after early pit stops under a safety car.It said the increased speeds of the 2020cars had also contributed.Pirelli F1 boss Mario Isola said he believed the right-rear tyre failure that triggered Daniil Kvyat’s Alpha Taurito crash on lap 12 was “probably caused by a slow puncture”, but he said that the tyre had been sent back the company’s base in Milan for further investigation. This was the incident that prompted the safety car that led to the early pit stops.Pirelli is sticking with its decision to supply softer tyres for this weekend’s 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, which will also be held at Silverstone, but is stipulating increased minimum tyre pressures “to reduce the stress on the construction”.- bbc.com