Sebastian Vettel defends Ferrari F1 team's Belgian GP tyre strategy

The four-time F1 world champion has chosen to speak out for the first time since storming away from the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in the wake of his 200mph incident on the penultimate lap of the race.

Pirelli later suggested tyre wear was the cause, with Vettel switching from soft to the medium compound on lap 14 of the 43-lap race.

Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery remarked he was "surprised" at the decision of the Scuderia to go for a one-stop plan, when every other team ran two or three-stop strategies.

But in a statement on his personal website, Vettel hit back at any suggestion Ferrari's gamble was dangerous.

Vettel said: "Just to make things clear: the team and I decided our strategy for the race together.

"I support the team and the team supports me, and this is what makes us a team.

"Our strategy was never risky, at any point. The team is not to blame.

"We deserved to finish on the podium, but that's racing; a different thing though is not to finish the race because of what happened.

"This is not easy to accept for a driver, even if it's not as bad as in Silverstone a few years ago [when numerous blowouts occurred during the 2013 British Grand Prix].

"But still we need to talk to each other as it can't happen without prior notice."

Pirelli is currently conducting a lengthy investigation into the cause of the incident, with its findings likely to be released towards the end of the week.