Nov.16 (GMM) According to a media report, a reason for Red Bull's dominance in 2011 could also explain Sebastian Vettel's mysterious retirement from the Abu Dhabi grand prix on Sunday.

Italy's Autosprint reports that the damage to the back to back world champion's rear Pirelli tyre on the second corner of the race could be related to Red Bull's blown exhaust solution for its RB7 car.

"The tyre was not cut (on the kerb) or damaged by debris," read the report. "So what happened?"

After the race, Vettel went to the scene of the puncture to conduct his own analysis.

"In three years no one has had a tyre problem there so I wanted to see if there was an obvious cause. There wasn't," the German is quoted by Express newspaper.

Autosprint's theory is that Vettel's pre-race routine in preparation for the start went awry.

Reportedly, the routine involves hot Renault engine gases from the exhausts of the 2011 Red Bull blowing onto the tyres.

"For some reason - defects in the procedure, the wrong mapping, other circumstances - not everything proceeded as it usually does," claims Autosprint.

The report concludes that it was the hot gases that damaged the tyre and caused the sudden puncture.

Latest F1 News - Mobile version

26 Feb: New Ferrari not quickest in field - Domenicali 26 Feb: Red Bull still best in 2013 - Tost 26 Feb: 2014 French grand prix 'possible' - Prost 26 Feb: Danica Patrick 'not interested' in F1 switch 26 Feb: Report - Gilles Simon working on F1 engine for Honda 26 Feb: Gutierrez plays down link to Carlos Slim 26 Feb: Caterham exhaust 'legal' insists van der Garde 26 Feb: McLaren replaces Mercedes-bound Lowe 25 Feb: 'Engine maps' trouble for Red Bull, Lotus - report 25 Feb: Mercedes-bound Lowe to miss 2013 opener - report 25 Feb: Mercedes 'in group of teams' behind Red Bull - Lauda 25 Feb: Gutierrez expects Hulkenberg to beat him early in 2013 25 Feb: New Ferrari 'much better' than 2012 - Massa 25 Feb: Teams 'will adapt' to new tyre situation - Gutierrez 25 Feb: Tight rules make today's F1 cars 'the same' - Forghieri 25 Feb: Williams removes controversial exhaust trick 25 Feb: Contract 'conflicts' cause of Marussia test snub - Razia 25 Feb: Lotus to fight Red Bull for title - Gutierrez 25 Feb: Marussia 'ahead of Caterham' - Chilton 25 Feb: Sutil will not stay in F1 as test driver The latest F1 News - Mobile Version