Max Verstappen lost a certain win at the weekend when his left-rear tyre blew out with five laps remaining in the Azerbaijan GP. It was the second tyre failure of the race as Lance Stroll suffered a tyre blowout on the same hard compound earlier in the Grand Prix. Pirelli have not had the best record with tyre blowouts since the became Formula 1's permanent tyre manufacturer in 2011. RacingNews365.com takes a look at eight massive moments when the Pirelli rubber let the drivers down and had major consequences for their race.
British GP 2013
The 2013 British GP was the first instance of dramatic tyre blowouts in the Pirelli era. Lewis Hamilton was leading the race until his left-rear tyre failed after just eight laps. Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne suffered the same problem as Hamilton a few laps later. It forced most of the drivers to start driving away from the kerbs, not knowing why the tyres were failing. Later in the race, Sergio Perez's left-rear tyre failed without warning when he was running in a strong position. Approximately 20 tyre failures were reported after eight rounds in 2013 and the Silverstone race led to Pirelli strengthening the construction of the tyre which had big consequences on how the rest of the season played out.
Belgian GP 2015
Sebastian Vettel was on course to make the podium at the 2015 Belgian GP a Ferrari's one-stop strategy appeared to be paying off. That was until his right-rear tyre exploded just after Eau Rouge which Vettel called unacceptable. The four-time world champion was visibly angry after the race but Pirelli's investigations concluded that the incident was caused by debris rather than tyre wear.
British GP 2017
Vettel lost another podium two years later, this time at Silverstone as the Ferrari driver along with teammate Kimi Raikkonen suffered front-left punctures when travelling at relatively slow speed. Both drivers were trying to nurse their tyres to the end of the Grand Prix but failed to make the strategy work just a few laps from the end of the race.
Azerbaijan GP 2018
Valtteri Bottas was leading the 2018 Azerbaijan GP until he ran over some debris and suffered a puncture going into Turn 1. Bottas was able to hold onto his car but was forced to retire. The Finn failed to win a race that year.
British GP 2020
If there was a crowd at the 2020 British GP, they would have witnessed a spectacular moment as Hamilton crossed the finish line to win with three wheels on his car. The seven-time world champion suffered a front-left puncture on the final lap of the race but wrestled his car home to hold off a charging Verstappen. A lap earlier, Bottas who was running second and fourth-place man Carlos Sainz suffered front-left punctures which dropped them out of the points. Pirelli said the 'extremely long' stints the cars were running on the demanding Silverstone circuit and the increased pace of the 2020 cars caused the tyre failures. Earlier in the race, Daniil Kvyat had a huge crash as his right-rear tyre failed which Pirelli believe happened due to a mechanical problem.
Tuscan GP 2020
Lance Stroll was fighting for a potential podium at F1's inaugural Tuscan GP at Mugello but a tyre failure at the high-speed Turn 9 caused him to spin and hit the barriers hard, to bring out a red flag. Stroll's car caught fire and he was clearly shaken by the accident.
Emilia Romagna GP 2020
Max Verstappen was set to finish second at the 2020 Emilia Romagna GP but an instant puncture in the closing stages of the race caused him to retire. Pirelli revealed that cuts in the tread and sidewall of the tyre caused the incident which led to a Mercedes 1-2.
Azerbaijan GP 2021
The 2021 Azerbaijan GP saw Verstappen lose a certain win is his left-rear tyre blew out. Earlier in the race, Stroll had an equally scary crash when running on the same hard tyre compound which has led to an investigation by Pirelli . Their conclusions and findings are set to be revealed later this month.
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