Michelin: Tyres not to blame for Kimi crash.

Michelin motorsport director Pierre Dupasquier has insisted that Kimi Raikkonen's last-lap crash at the European Grand Prix was not a consequence of natural tyre wear, but a result of one incident during the Finn's race towards almost certain victory.

Raikkonen took the lead at the start of the 59-lap event, only ceding the advantage during his two pit-stops and, for a brief moment, when he ran off the road and allowed the chasing Nick Heidfeld to take over at the front. That wasn't the incident that precipitated Raikkonen's dramatic last-lap exit, however, as the Finn also locked-up heavily when he realised that a lapping move on Sauber's Jacques Villeneuve wasn't going to come off as he had planned.

Jumping on the brakes carved a large flat-spot into the McLaren's front right tyre and, as Dupasquier later explained, the problem was self-perpetuating. Eventually, the vibrations became so bad that the car's suspension could take no further punishment, finally giving out under braking for turn one of the final tour.

"It was another gruelling weekend," Dupasquier admitted, "It may have produced yet another Michelin F1 success, but also one or two talking points besides.

"One has to feel sorry for Kimi R?ikk?nen. He flat-spotted his front-right tyre, which caused a serious vibration that clearly took its toll in the race's closing stages. When he made his second scheduled stop on lap 43, we could see the problem very clearly, but the trouble is that it becomes very easy to lock your brakes repeatedly once a tyre has been flat-spotted - and that just amplifies the problem. We have seen cars locking up on many occasions throughout the weekend - it seems to happen quite a lot here, because one or two corners encourage drivers to turn in while braking."

Raikkonen's retirement aside, Dupasquier was happy with the way his company's rubber has stood up to the unexpectedly high temperatures at the Nurburgring.

"Our partner teams were as dominant in the race as they had been throughout the weekend and, indeed, throughout the season," he said, reflecting on six cars in the top eight point-scoring places, "Looking at the overall picture, it is clear that our tyres provided their usual combination of speed and durability."