This year’s cars are much faster than last year’s – up to two seconds per lap – which means far heavier loads go through the tyres. And since Pirelli was unable to test with current race cars due to the ban on in-season testing, it found it difficult to replicate the sorts of loads experienced on Sunday. The stress on the tyres at Silverstone was aggravated by the high kerbs at Turn Four, which cut into them. This led to the blow-outs, either afterwards on the Wellington Straight or later in the lap.