Pirelli was quick to respond following a late tyre failure that cost Sebastian Vettel a potential podium finish at Spa.

The Italian manufacturer, still smarting from accusations that it was to blame for Nico Rosberg's spectacular failure on Friday, which has been blamed on a cut caused by an external source, has no intention of taking the blame for today's failure.

Even though Vettel had suggested a tyre change was possible, the team opted to leave him out. On the penultimate lap, under pressure from Romain Grosjean, the right-rear tyre on the German's car exploded at the start of the Kemmel Straight.

"It was at the end of wear life," Pirelli Motorsport boss Paul Hembery told reporters "Any tyre in the world, when it gets to the end of its wear-life, you're going to have a problem.

"He 28 laps," he continued. "We thought the strategy would be based on two or three stops, as the majority did, but they clearly felt they could make it work with one stop. They obviously felt that was feasible.

"Wear life was indicated at around 40 laps, but it's an indication and race conditions can change that, and some factors involved in racing mean that sometimes it's not a precise datum. Other teams were taking a different direction.

"Rosberg's was an external cut, this was pure wear," said the Briton. "The images show the carcass was still intact. If the race was one lap less, he'd be on the podium and we'd be calling it a genius move, sometimes the margins are very fine.

"It's tough," he sympathised. "But he's a driver, he's been out there and frustrated that he's only one lap away from getting a result. So I'm not going to criticise him for that."

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