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Vettel Confirms Flying Pirelli Marbles at Sepang

Sebastian Vettel too has joined the pack of drivers to issue safety-related complaints regarding the chunks of Pirelli rubber spread around the Sepang track during Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix.

As the race progressed and the Pirelli tires started wearing off faster and faster, almost every portion of the Sepang race track was filled with discarded “marbles” of synthetic rubber that fell off the tires, and every approach of a corner that wasn't performed on the racing line was joined by flying rubber.

Force India's Paul di Resta was the first driver to address this issue after the race, saying that some pieces of rubber have actually hit him during the race. And although Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembery told the media that none of the front-runners had issued any complaints about that particular aspect of the tires' wear, Vettel begged to differ.

There was a lump (of tire) that was suddenly in the middle of my visor,” said Vettel when questioned about it by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport. “They're like bullets fired from the car in front.

Additionally, he raised concerns that this type of tire degradation, followed by similar behavior of the rubber marbles, could prove dangerous for the spectators on some circuits.

Imagine Singapore or Monaco, where a fan could suddenly find a piece of tyre in his tea,” added the 23-year old German.

It is believed that the dirty track caused Vitaly Petrov to retire late in the race, when he ran wide at Turn 8 and afterwards damaged his car in the run-offs, while also playing an important role in Fernando Alonso's clipping the rear of Lewis Hamilton's car when trying to overtake the British driver.
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