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Was Vettel right to attack Pirelli?

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Sebastian Vettel launched a tirade against Pirelli after the tyre blowout that cost him third, but did Ferrari only have itself to blame? BEN ANDERSON investigates the factors involved

For 41 of the 43 laps that made up the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix, Ferrari looked to have pulled off a masterstroke in damage limitation. Sebastian Vettel was clinging on for dear life in third place, on a weekend where the Prancing Horse had otherwise looked a little lame.

Then the horse did go lame. Vettel's heavily worn right-rear tyre exploded on the Kemmel Straight on lap 42, robbing him and his Ferrari team of a podium finish behind the dominant Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, and leading Vettel to launch a furious rant against the integrity of tyre supplier Pirelli.

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