Tyre blow-out saga: FIA to back Pirelli

LONDON, England - Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel are still causing high consternation in the F1 world.

None of his colleagues echoed Vettel's Spa-Francorchamps rant with the same ferocity, but it is clear that - as the sport now heads to the ultra-fast Monza layout - concerns about the quality of Pirelli's tyres are widespread.

Pirelli, however, said Rosberg's failure on Friday (August 21 2015) was caused by a cut to the tyre.

HIGH NUMBER OF CUTS?

German newspaper Bild claims that Pirelli has identified an unusually high number of other cuts - 60 - on the tyres that were used throughout the field in Belgium.

Bild said: "In the ten races before Spa, the total was just 85 (cuts)."

As for Vettel's failure, Pirelli reportedly continues to believe that the problem was excessive tyre wear, as Ferrari went it alone with its one-stop strategy.

Alex Wurz, president of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA), has indicated that explanation is not good enough.

He told the BBC: "As drivers, we strongly believe the end of a tyre's performance window can and should not be a tyre delamination in the form of an explosion."

In the short term, it is believed the FIA is set to support Pirelli in introducing some immediate changes, including mandating a maximum tyre life per set.

An FIA spokesperson is quoted by France's Canal Plus: "We are working closely with Pirelli and Ferrari to draw lessons from what happened and to make appropriate changes."

VETERAN SLAMS VETTEL

Eddie Jordan has hit out at Vettel for his fierce criticism of Pirelli in the wake of his Spa-Francorchamps tyre blowout.

The Ferrari driver launched an expletive-filled attack on Pirelli after Spa, and he followed it up this week with a written statement that made clear he continues to blame the Italian company.

Jordan, a former team boss and owner and now pundit for British television, said: "Sebastian needs to think before he publicly attacks a global company like Pirelli."

Jordan said he thinks the venom of Vettel's attack was fuelled by his disappointment at blowing his outside shot at the 2015 world championship.

He told Germany's Sport Bild: "Vettel wanted to stay in the title fight at any cost. That's why with Ferrari he took such a big risk.

"And that's why Sebastian was so disappointed. At 67 points behind, he can now forget about the title," added Jordan.