Muller: Teams helped cause WTCC tyre drama in Germany last weekend
Four-time World Touring Car champion Yvan Muller believes teams should accept responsibility for the spate of punctures in last weekend's Nurburgring Nordschleife round, as blaming supplier Yokohama is "too easy"

Erstwhile WTCC leader Tiago Monteiro accused Yokohama of creating a "dangerous" situation after a race one puncture ruined his weekend.
Volvo driver Nestor Girolami lost a second place finish in race one to a puncture, and 2012 WTCC champion Rob Huff said the events of the Nurburgring were "unacceptable".
But Muller, who was caught up in a similar accident in last year's Nurburgring event when Monteiro suffered a puncture while leading and ended up in his path, believes the fact some teams avoided punctures shows that Yokohama cannot be entirely to blame.
"When this kind of incident happens, the first thing you do is blame the tyres," Muller told Autosport.
"But I think that's a bit too easy, especially as some teams had no punctures in the whole weekend.
"Everyone knows the Nordschleife is a very hard, demanding track for tyres.
"Even if Yokohama brings a stronger tyre tomorrow, drivers and teams will play with the limit of the tyre to get some performance anyway.
"Incidentally, Yokohama already supplies us with a stronger tyre than it was in the past.
What's difficult is finding the right compromise between safety and performance, and we're always at the limit."

Muller, who retired from WTCC at the end of last season following Citroen's withdrawal, believes a solution would be for Yokohama to set guidelines for pressure and camber that teams would be forced to adhere to.
"Yokohama currently just suggests tyre set-ups for teams," he said.
"The teams should have to follow precise guidelines in terms of pressure or camber on trickier tracks like the Nordschleife.
"I can talk about that quite legitimately, because I was part of those who, in the past, criticised tyres when they were a problem. But we also played with the limit.
"We always look for the limit, because every tenth counts.
"Can you make a tyre that resists better? I'm not sure.
"But if you could, teams would push it even more to fulfil its potential. It would just shift the issue."

Yokohama defends WTCC tyres after Nurburgring Nordschleife problems
World Touring Car Championship reveals Vila Real joker lap details

Latest news
NASCAR bans Chastain Martinsville wall-ride manoeuvre
NASCAR has decided to ban the wall-ride manoeuvre made famous by Ross Chastain at Martinsville that secured him a place in the Championship 4.
Gasly: Mindset for Alpine is "completely different" to Red Bull F1 move
Pierre Gasly says he has a "completely different" mindset for his Alpine Formula 1 move thanks to lessons taken from his failed stint at Red Bull in 2019.
GTD Pro win a “proper send-off” for retiring IMSA stalwart MacNeil
Winning the GTD Pro class at the Daytona 24 Hours was a fitting way for Cooper MacNeil to retire from racing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, says team-mate Jules Gounon.
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
Why joker laps are entering the mainstream
This season the World Touring Car Championship looks certain to bring joker laps to a circuit-racing world championship for the first time. And it need not be the daft gimmick people may think
The making of the world's best tin-top driver
He has been overshadowed at Citroen for the last three seasons, but the retirement of Yvan Muller means the world says farewell to one of touring-car racing's finest talents
Volvo's plan to conquer the WTCC
Volvo gave the World Touring Car Championship a major boost when it announced it would enter the series, but its ambitions don't stop there. JACK COZENS examines its programme, the S60 and what its arrival means for the WTCC
The WTCC's Nordschleife gamble paid off
A 17-car field on a 13-mile track - the WTCC's Nurburgring Nordschleife gamble wasn't going to be easy to pull off. STUART CODLING explains how the series made it work
Insight from a Nordschleife master
World championship racing returns to the Nordschleife this weekend. STUART CODLING got a lesson from one of the legendary track's few masters
Becoming world champion for £100k
The 2012 World Touring Car champion says he never had the money to race cars. Yet 2015 is his 11th season in the WTCC. He talks STUART CODLING through his journey from motorsport fan to paid professional - for little more than £100,000
Can the vanquished champion bounce back?
The World Touring Car Championship kicks off in Argentina this weekend, and Yvan Muller bids to reclaim his throne from Citroen team-mate Jose Maria Lopez. He talks to STUART CODLING
The top 10 WTCC drivers of 2014
Citroen had no rivals during the 2014 World Touring Car Championship, and 'rookie' Jose Maria Lopez hit the ground running to emerge as a worthy champion. PETER MILLS rates the field
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.