Damaged Seal to Blame for Ferrari Fire Incident

The Ferrari team said today that a damaged seal on the breather hose of their refuelling system was to blame for the fire caused during a pitstop at last Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix.

World Champion Michael Schumacher had a narrow escape when his car was licked with flames after fuel spilled out of the refuelling nozzle during his first scheduled stop at the A1-Ring.

The German calmly sat in the cockpit of his F2003-GA as his team of mechanics rapidly extinguished the flames and the FIA and Ferrari launched an investigation immediately after the race.

World Champions Ferrari today announced the result of the investigation.

"During Rubens Barrichello's pit stop on lap 21, a small amount of fuel remained in the breather hose of the rig, which was then used to refuel Schumacher's car two laps later," said Ferrari in a statement.

"It appeared that a seal was damaged on the breather hose, so the fuel left inside it was able to escape onto the exhausts, thus starting a fire, which was further exacerbated by vapour escaping from the same hose."

Brazilian Rubens Barrichello was also forced to wait for 20 seconds after his fuel rig stuck in his car in a pitstop just before Schumacher's fiery experience.