Pirelli has issued a statement on its findings following the puncture to Kimi Raikkonen's tyre on the penultimate lap of the British Grand Prix.

The Finn was running third when he suffered the puncture to his left-front tyre. However, as he was near the pits he was able to safely make it back and rejoined the race in fourth.

However, a lap later, teammate Sebastian Vettel, who had inherited third place, suffered a puncture to the same tyre which resulted in the German dropping to seventh.

Having confirmed that the German suffered a slow puncture and the subsequent drive back to the pits on an underinflated and then flat tyre led to the final failure, Pirelli admitted that it would need further time to investigate the cause of his teammate's failure.

Tonight, the Italian manufacturer issued its findings:

The results of the analysis on Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen’s front-left soft compound tyre, which experienced an issue at the end of the recent British Grand Prix, reveal specific damage in two places at the edge of the belt close to the internal shoulder area.

This damage is not present throughout any other areas of the tyre whatsoever. Furthermore, the belt and the structure do not show any signs of fatigue.

The possible initial cause of this damage is consistent with contact against an external body, leading to a partial separation of the belt from the carcass in the two affected areas. In one of these two places, as a logical consequence, part of the tread also became detached.

This damage did not however compromise the actual tyre structure, with Raikkonen able to make his way safely back to the pits on an inflated tyre.

A number of detailed tests have since been carried out, both destructive and non-destructive, on other tyres used by frontrunners at the British Grand Prix with a similar or bigger distance on them compared to the set used by Raikkonen (for 25 laps). On no occasion was there any sign of fatigue, detachment or laceration - or even the beginning of such problems - that affected the structure of the tyre.

In conclusion, Pirelli can confirm that no issues have emerged connected with the tyre itself.