Bridgestone continues tyre inquiry

Japanese tyre manufacturer Bridgestone continues to investigate the cause of two incidents involving both McLaren cars during the German Grand Prix weekend.

On Saturday, one of David Coulthard's tyres appeared to shred, and during the race, a rear tyre on team-mate Mika Hakkinen's car blew at more than 200mph, causing him to spin four times and crash into a tyre wall.

Although no official conclusions have been released, Martin Whitmarsh, managing director at McLaren claims Bridgestone engineers have told the team they could find no cuts on Coulthard's tyre.

The debris from Hakkinen's tyre has been sent back to Japan for analysis. A detailed report on the failure is expected later this week.

'It has also been confirmed by a Bridgestone engineer that they do not believe that a rear wing failure caused the subsequent tyre problem on Hakkinen's car during the race,' commented Whitmarsh.

It was suggested after the Finn's crash that a flapping rear wing could have cut into the tyre.

However, Bridgestone's initial finding effectively rules this theory out - which could point to a problem with the tyre.

'We have reached no conclusion, and it would be unwise to speculate,' insisted Whitmarsh.