Pirelli has claimed their new 2017 tyres played no part in Sebastian Vettel’s recent crash at Fiorano.
The German was completing another of the Italian tyre supplier’s permitted test sessions with the new wider rubber when he slid off the track in wet conditions into a tyre wall.
He was bruised and shaken by the incident and the test was later called off but will be completed at a later date.
YouTube: Vettel crash Pirelli Wet tyres test
Last year’s Pirelli’s ‘Cincurato’ brand of wet tyres were heavily criticised following three safety car starts due to aquaplaning concerns and a general lack of performance in the sodden Brazilian Grand Prix.
Having already put improving their treaded rubber as one of their main goals for this season, Pirelli boss Paul Hembery pointed at the temperatures as the main reason for the crash.
“It was very cold on that day,” he was quoted by F1i.com. “It was extremely abnormal conditions that made testing very difficult and delicate.
“It was only 4 degrees, which is unusual and to get the tyres to work in those temperatures is the problem.”
How the sometimes controversial tyre supplier will cope with the rule changes has been one of the major talking points since they were ratified.
And Hembery too, admits they won’t know for sure how they’ve done until the first race of the season.
“The biggest challenge for us is not having seen the new cars. We’ll probably only see if our data corresponds to reality on Saturday night in Melbourne,” he claimed.
However, fellow Pirelli chief Mario Isola revealed contingencies are in place should they be needed.
“Some elements are difficult to predict, so we have prepared five reserve compounds that can be used if the real track data does not coincide with what we simulated,” he said.
