Pirelli say tyre not to blame for Kvyat's crash

SILVERSTONE, England (Reuters) - Formula One tyre supplier Pirelli said on Thursday they were not to blame for a failure that led to AlphaTauri's Daniil Kvyat crashing out of last weekend's British Grand Prix.

The Russian hit the wall at Silverstone on lap 12, bringing out the safety car.

Pirelli said in a statement that a joint investigation with the Red Bull-owned team had found a mechanical issue had led to the inside of the right-rear wheel rim overheating. That in turn burned the bead of the tyre.

"As a result, the bead was no longer able to seal the tyre onto the rim. This is what caused the subsequent deflation, with the tyre itself playing no part in the cause of the accident," it added.

Kvyat had initially blamed himself for the accident but the team made clear he was not at fault.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Pritha Sarkar)