Williams bodywork cut down Michelin Tires

Michelin boss Pierre Dupasquier is confident that the four right rear failures suffered by Williams during the Turkish Grand Prix, two with Mark Webber’s car and two with Nick Heidfeld, causing both cars to retire from the race, was not directly the fault of the French tire manufacturer, instead it was more than likely caused by the tires making contact with part of the FW27’s bodywork.

"It's currently under investigation but it's clear it's something not related with the tires," the Frenchman explained. "It could be contact with some part of the bodywork. The chassis is so strong that we don't expect anything bizarre from that side. I don't know what happened; we'll have to analyze and understand it.

"We did realize the curb on the inside of Turn 13 was not friendly, so we warned all the teams to tell their drivers they would risk damaging the tires if they would cut Turn 13 too much. It wasn't the problem Williams experienced, though, I can tell you."