Pirelli explains why its Formula 1 tyres were punctured and reveals that Lewis Hamilton also had a similar problem during the F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Formula One World Championship leader Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll both suffered punctures to their left rear tyres at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Pirelli, through its manager Mario Isola, cleared itself of any possible fault with its tyres, saying that the cause of both incidents was probably linked to an “external factor”, in other words, debris on the track.

Isola also revealed after inspecting the tyres on Lewis Hamilton’s car that one of them had been cut. This could, like Stroll and Verstappen, have forced him to retire had he not put himself out of contention for the win with a rare error on the race restart.

“There were no warnings or vibrations detected before these incidents.” confirms Isola,

“We did several inspections on the other drivers’ cars and we can confirm that no other tyre that has done a similar number of laps or more has shown any signs of excessive wear.

“So our feeling is that it is possible that this damage could have been caused by an external factor.

“I can also tell you that a cut was found on one of Lewis Hamilton’s tyres. In this case the right rear tyre had been under more stress than the left rear tyre.”